This single decision will determine most of your life这个决定将决定你的一生

why indecisiveness is death为什么优柔寡断就意味着死亡

The quality of your decisions determines the quality of your life.
你的决策质量决定了你的生活质量。

But there's one decision that determines all other decisions.
但有一个决定决定了所有其他决定。

For myself, I made this meta-decision when I was young. I can't remember exactly when – it had been on my mind since I was 10-12 years old – but there was a distinct point in time where I knew that the default life wasn't for me. I despised it with my entire being.
就我个人而言，我在年轻时就做出了这个重要的决定。我不记得具体是什么时候——从10到12岁起，我就一直在想这件事——但在一个特定的时间点，我意识到默认的生活并不适合我。我全身心地厌恶它。

The single most important decision I made was to not work all day on something I hate for an abysmal amount of money while yelling at the TV about politics and sports. To have all of my time sucked up by work, energy drained by tasks I didn’t choose, and money disappear to bills I didn't even know I had to pay.
我做过的最重要的决定，就是不再为了一大笔钱，整天做着自己讨厌的工作，对着电视大喊大叫地谈论政治和体育。这样，我所有的时间都被工作占据，精力都被我没选择的任务消耗殆尽，钱也消失在那些我甚至不知道自己必须支付的账单上。

Many people ruin their lives because they can't make that decision, let alone any decision. The average person is indecisive, and they don't see the massive problem with that.
很多人因为无法做出决定而毁掉了自己的人生，更不用说做任何决定了。普通人优柔寡断，他们没有意识到这其中存在着巨大的问题。

You're hurling down the wrong path
你走错了路

When you're born, you're put on the default path.
当你出生时，你就被置于默认路径上。

Like a freight train hurling down tracks laid by a mixture of generations prior to you. You’ve accumulated 20 years of momentum by the time you exit your teenage years. Survival patterns cemented into your mind. Programming that influences your decisions. The thing is, this is a very rudimentary operating system for life. Go to school, get a job, retire. There is nothing extraordinary about that. You will never reach your potential unless you make a bold and deliberate decision to shift the train tracks.
就像一列货运列车沿着前几代人铺设的轨道疾驰而过。当你走出青少年时期时，你已经积累了20年的动力。生存模式根植于你的脑海中。程序影响着你的决策。事实上，这只是一个非常简陋的人生操作系统。上学、工作、退休。这并没有什么特别之处。除非你做出大胆而深思熟虑的决定来改变轨道，否则你永远无法发挥自己的潜力。

The decision of all decisions is to reject the default path.
所有决策中的决策就是拒绝默认路径。

To answer the call to adventure. To finally begin writing the first chapter. To leave the tutorial and start level one.
响应冒险的召唤。终于开始撰写第一章。离开教程，开始第一关。

That's when your life starts.
那是你的生命开始的时刻。

The outcome of your life is determined by a series of 10-12 bold decisions. A dozen train track shifts. And if you don't make those shifts, you get stuck with a dull life. You stall out. That's the massive trap of modern life.
你的人生结局取决于一系列10到12个大胆的决定，就像十几次火车轨道上的换挡。如果你不做出这些改变，你的生活就会陷入沉闷的境地，停滞不前。这就是现代生活的巨大陷阱。

Imagine being in a job you hate.
想象一下从事一份你讨厌的工作。

You can make the decision to never put up with that again, or you can remain indecisive and wake up two years later without a single change in your life. In fact, it probably would have gotten much worse during that time.
你可以决定不再忍受这种事，或者你也可以继续犹豫不决，两年后醒来，生活却毫无改变。事实上，那段时间你的生活可能会变得更糟。

The problem with indecisiveness is that by not making a decision, you let others make decisions for you. This is life. You have to do something. You have to move in some kind of direction every day, but most aren't in control of the trajectory.
优柔寡断的问题在于，如果你不做决定，就等于让别人替你做决定。这就是生活。你必须有所行动 。你必须每天朝着某个方向前进，但大多数人都无法掌控自己的轨迹。

Let's call this the "idle state," when your brain is on and functional but not processing anything meaningful. You're doing something, but you're not really doing anything. You hate it, but not enough to change it.
我们把这种情况称为“空闲状态”，你的大脑虽然运转正常，但却没有处理任何有意义的事情。你在做某事，但实际上什么也没做。你讨厌它，但还不足以改变它。

You silently value mediocrity
你默默地珍视平庸

Your decisions reveal your values.
您的决定体现了您的价值观。

As much as you'd like to think you have noble values, I want you to take an in depth look at what you do.
尽管你认为自己拥有高尚的价值观，但我希望你深入审视你所做的事情。

If you go out every weekend, you value social status. If you order takeout and throw on Netflix every night, you value comfort. If you work a job, you value security.
如果你每个周末都出去玩，你看重的是社会地位。如果你每晚都叫外卖，然后看 Netflix，你看重的是舒适。如果你有一份工作，你看重的是安全感。

Values signal what are important to you. The good life stems from the concentration of force toward the right values. It's completely fine if you value status or comfort or security, but be honest with yourself. Where is most of your energy going? Toward what values? What resources are you spending toward a better life, if any?
价值观表明什么对你来说重要。美好的生活源于将力量集中在正确的价值观上。如果你重视地位、舒适或安全，这完全没问题，但请诚实地问自己。 你的大部分精力都花在哪里？追求哪些价值观？你为了追求更好的生活投入了哪些资源（如果有的话）？

Most people are pouring their time, energy, and money down the drain. The currencies they can spend toward a better life disappear the moment they appear. They will look back years from now (that's a lie… many people never self-reflect) and realize that even though they feel tired and near burnout, they've accomplished nothing meaningful.
大多数人把时间、精力和金钱都浪费了。他们原本可以用来改善生活的“货币”一出现就消失了。多年以后，他们会回首往事（这其实是谎言……很多人从不反省），意识到尽管自己感到疲惫不堪，几乎精疲力竭，却没有取得任何有意义的成就。

If you want to change the trajectory of your life, you need to become disgusted with this fact. You need to become brutally aware that almost everything you do is going to waste. You need to feel that pain in your bones, hold your negative and positive potential in your mind at the same time, and watch the positive prevail.
如果你想改变人生轨迹，你需要对这个事实感到厌恶。你需要残酷地意识到，你所做的几乎一切都将付诸东流。你需要感受那种深入骨髓的痛苦，同时在心中保留消极和积极的潜能，并见证积极因素的最终胜利。

Sit with this question  坐下来思考这个问题

Take the next 7 days to only think about this question:
用接下来的7天时间只思考这个问题：

Where will my life end up if I keep making the same decisions?
如果我不断做出同样的决定，我的生活最终会变成什么样？

Chances are, the answers you arrive at won't be pretty.
很有可能，你得到的答案并不令人满意。

To make this even more tangible, pull out a piece of paper. Do it now. Don't ignore this because you're just wasting time reading some internet wise guy. Then, write down every single action you took today, and every other routined and repetitive actions you will take throughout this week.
为了让这一点更加具体，拿出一张纸。现在就做。不要因为浪费时间阅读一些网上的博文而忽略了这一点。然后，写下你今天做的每一个动作，以及本周你将要做的每一个常规和重复的动作。

To take it even further, go to a public space. A grocery store. A fast food restaurant. A place that has an abundance of ordinary people. Just watch. Observe them. While I'm sure they're kind people, do you want to end up like them? Do you want that dead look in your eyes? That slow and tired strut? As much as you'd like to convince yourself you don't, that's the life you are heading toward if you remain indecisive.
更进一步，去一个公共场所。杂货店。快餐店。一个有很多普通人的地方。只是观察。观察他们。虽然我相信他们都是善良的人，但你想最终也和他们一样吗？你想让自己的眼神死气沉沉吗？你想让自己的步伐缓慢而疲惫吗？尽管你想说服自己不要，但如果你犹豫不决，你最终会走向这样的生活。

It may take 7 days or 365, but if you observe long enough, and are truly honest with yourself, you won't have any other option but to radically change the values that influence your decision-making.
这可能需要 7 天或 365 天，但如果你观察的时间足够长，并且真正诚实地面对自己，你将别无选择，只能彻底改变影响你决策的价值观。

Through the simple act of observing the masses, you will realize that conscious health, business, and self-actualization are non-negotiable.
通过简单观察大众的行为，您将意识到有意识的健康、商业和自我实现是不可谈判的。

A life without mistakes is death
没有犯错的人生就是死亡

Wrong decisions are better than no decision.
错误的决定总比没有决定好。

But there are so many decisions to make.
但还有很多决定要做。

Should you work on your career or work on spirituality? Should you learn to code or learn to market? Should you find your purpose or find a partner? Should you do the carnivore diet or the sugar diet?
你应该专注于事业还是追求精神追求？你应该学习编程还是学习市场营销？你应该寻找人生目标还是寻找伴侣？你应该尝试肉食减肥法还是低糖减肥法？

We're in a weird spot in history where there have never been more options to change your life to the point where you get overwhelmed and choose none of the above.
我们正处于历史上一个奇怪的阶段，从来没有这么多的选择来改变你的生活，以至于你不知所措，无法做出上述任何选择。

The reality is, it doesn't matter which option you choose, as long as you choose one, even if the outcome is catastrophic. Choosing to become decisive means that you don't make one decision and call it a day. Instead, you continue making decisions from a place of greater awareness.
事实上，无论你选择哪个选项，只要你选择了，即使结果是灾难性的，都无所谓。选择果断意味着你不会只做了一个决定就完事了。相反，你会从更清醒的视角出发，继续做出决定。

There are a series of decisions I've made in my life that others would have thought were stupid, crazy, or not worth making.

Almost 5 years ago, I was sleeping on a floor mat in a guest room because I didn't want to spend the money to move out of my ex's place. I was cheap and overly frugal. I was working on my side business at the time, and I decided to say "fuck it," get rid of everything I owned except for a bad of clothes, and move to Mexico with a friend I had met online.

2 weeks in, I felt as if I had made the greatest mistake of my life. I hated it there. Paradise sucked. I needed a home base. My business was starting to gain traction, and I could not grow it with the distractions of Playa Del Carmen.

So I made another decision. I called my friend back in Arizona and asked if he wanted to get an apartment with me. But not just any apartment, this was a place that cost 2x more than anything I've been able to afford in my life. I was confident that I was the type of person who could make my business work under that immense amount of pressure.

Turns out, those 12 months were the most I've ever grown in my life. I was the most lean, calm, financially stable, and alive I've ever been. With 2 bold decisions, my life had radically changed. I was a completely different person.

By now, I had seen the vast power in making mistakes. In figuring out what I don't want in life. Any "crazy" idea was no longer crazy, it was the catalyst for anything good in life. Moving to a different country? A big risk, but if you’re a decisive person, you can move back whenever you want because you can decide to improve your skill set and make more money. Decisiveness changes your perception of what’s possible..

When that apartment lease ended, my now editor and I moved to Texas with Dakota Robertson and JK Molina – friends I had made on Twitter. When Dakota had to leave because of visa issues after 6 months, that's when the "mistakes" really started to come into play.

We moved back to Arizona, leased an even more expensive place. A year later, I bought my first home, and again, deeply regretted it. But this time I was down $1.1 million instead of a few thousand. I didn't want to be pinned down this early in life. I didn't even care to live in that location. 2 months later, I put the condo back on the market. Thankfully, I only lost about a hundred thousand after all was said and done. Painful, but well worth it, as I had gained the priceless clarity of what I want.

That's only the beginning of my mistakes. I’m in the process of another great “mistake” right now. This time it’s $3 million down, but that was the cost of clarity, and that clarity can make it all back in a fraction of the time.

The more bold decisions you make, the more mistakes you make, leading to more experience, ensuring that each decision makes a less impactful mistake over time, honing you in on success like a ballistic missile.

A life without mistakes is death.

When you’re ready, here’s how I can help you further:

• The full one-person business launchpad course is now available on the paid version of this substack

• Read the last letter on ‘the death of thoughtful creation’ here

• Watch the my latest YouTube video on how to become the main character of your life