Your Mood (State of Mind) - Your mood impacts your decision making and efficiency, and can dramatically change your quality life. Your mood is fickle and easy to manipulate and you need to learn how to control your own state of mind before someone else beats you to it.

Everyone is trying to influence you – Everyone and everything is trying to get you to agree with them, buy from them, or do what they want. I’m not saying it is a bad thing (you do it to them) but being aware of the influences will prevent you from making regrettable decisions.

Big picture perspective – I know “see the big picture” is so cliché, but yet so true. When you are too far down the “tunnel”, you tend to get lost. Take a step back, clear your head, and take a moment to just look at the situation.

Emotions – Learn to control your emotions, don’t let your emotions control you. We rarely make good decisions when we are emotional. I’m not saying you can’t have emotions, just be aware of them and how they affect you.

Life doesn’t play fair – Life likes to throw random curve balls at us, whether we deserve it or not. A “poor me” approach to life doesn’t solve problems, it just makes the problems worse. Yes, life is rough and plays unfair but the only way to move forward is to raise above it, not wallow in it.

Filter it – Taking a second pause before reacting can be the difference between making a regrettable, brash decision and a wise decision. Take a breath and run your reaction through a quick filter. You can thank me later.

Life is a multiplayer game – Even if you aren’t a “people person” you still have to deal with them as part of life. You might want to improve your interpersonal and conversation skills.

Take care of your body – It is easier to stay clear-headed when you are healthy and feeling good vs feeling horrible because you aren’t taking care of yourself. Great decisions rarely happen when you are tired, stressed, and/or sick.

Alcohol and Drugs – I want you to avoid them altogether, but it is your choice. At the very least, avoid making decisions when under the influence. The results of mixing alcohol and drugs with decision-making are usually life changing, and not in a good way.