Pilots have been using checklists for years to avoid mistakes and forgetting things. Living by a code is important. Before making big decisions, I try to use a checklist to make the best decision. Live with a good question rather than a bad answer.
Here’s my checklist:
> Do you know where you are and where you want to go? If a map is to get you where you want to go, you need to see the world as it is.
> Are you looking at reality? Don’t fantasize about how people should be.
> Can you retain the ability to walk away from a situation that feels unmanageable or if you find yourself digging a hole, will you be able to stop digging?
> Are you following your own system, or are you becoming enslaved by someone else’s?
> Can you still live simply and pay as you go?
> Are you making this decision when you’re angry?
> Are you making a promise when you’re happy?
> Are you doing the right thing or just what you have the right to do?
> If simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, can it be kept simple?
> You’ll miss 100% of the shots you never take. Are you letting the perfect get in the way of the good?
> Are there extraordinary claims requiring extraordinary evidence?
> Will you be busy doing nothing? Because doing nothing is better.
> If you’re not happy; you’re wasting your time.
> If you feel fear, acknowledge it, and then proceed.
> Remember that most of the things people worry about never happen.
> Don’t ask for permission you don’t need.