Have you ever struggled to make a decision and ended up choosing the one that lead to the worst consequence? We as humans make mistakes left and right and just when it seems like we think we know better, we sometimes don’t.

Let me introduce you to a decision making tool called 10-10-10. 10-10-10 is a life-changing novel written by Suzy Welch, wife of famous author Jack Welch. In this novel, Welch describes through personal problems how she came up with 10-10-10, a way to make better decisions while focusing on the future consequences.

The way 10-10-10 works is, when faced with a dilemma, one must think about the consequences and how they  will affect them in the next 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years. Obviously, it does not have to be with the number 10 exactly, it can be 15 minutes, 2 months, and 4 years, but 10 is just a stable number.

Welch provides multiple examples throughout her novel where she has used this tool and how it has worked out for her, as well as sharing an abundance of other people’s real life situations who have sent her letters after this strategy proved true for them.

Everyday we make a tremendous amount of decisions with some of them having a greater affect on our lives than others. We try to limit the decisions that we think are bad, but do we really know that it is for sure the worst choice? Personally, I used to never really look into the consequences that much. I always knew that they were going to be there, but I did not care too much as long as the consequence wasn’t too bad.

After learning about 10-10-10, my perception was opened to a world of opportunities even though many people could attribute this to a simple tool called common sense. However, most people today would not base a decision off of the consequences that will affect them in 10 years.

Today’s society needs help, and people are afraid to admit it. Today’s “idols” that are shown on television and Internet are making it harder for the average person to stay on the right path. Everyone is caught up in having the time of their life almost everyday like the stars do and put off work for later leading to subpar performance.

The problem is that everyone is trying to be like someone famous and thinking something along the lines of “What would Drake do” or “What would Lebron James do”. Instead, they should realize who they are and use 10-10-10 and make a great decision on what to do.

While growing up, we will always look back at some decisions we made and ask ourselves what were we thinking at that time. It happened when we were kids and it will sure happen when we grow older, but that is what life is about, learning from our mistakes. The 10-10-10 decision making tool is a way to visualize consequences and limit your mistakes.

Use 10-10-10 everyday in your life, or even once a week, and you have a higher chance of making those better decisions that you strive to make. If you think about how something will affect you not just later in that month, but in a couple years, you might just be surprised on what you learn about who you want to be. Remember, life goes on, and it is not going to give any second chances, so choose your actions wisely.

Jack Corrao | Elite.