The great decisions protocol
Good decisions change your day. Great decisions change your life #45
Every moment you exist, you’re making choices. Right now, reading these words, you’re experiencing the compounded effect of every decision you’ve ever made. If your past decisions created your current reality, then your future decisions will create your next one.
The Decision Tree That Defines Your Life
If you’ve ever seen a decision tree, then you’ll know that you can basically end up in entirely different realities just by the compounding choices you make every moment of your life. One branch leads to financial freedom, another to debt. One leads to vibrant health, another to chronic disease. One leads to deep, fulfilling relationships, another to isolation and regret. The branch you’re on right now? You chose it. Every single day, through thousands of micro-decisions, you’re choosing which reality you inhabit. But here’s what should excite you: you can choose differently starting right now.
What Autonomy Actually Unlocks
Great decisions require autonomy. But even greater decisions require emotional control, awareness, and what I call higher free will – the ability to see your patterns and choose beyond them. Research shows that people with greater autonomy and decision-making awareness don’t just lead “better” lives. They unlock exponential rewards across every domain: health, fitness, finance, relationships, and business.
In health, they make choices that compound into longevity, energy, and vitality. In fitness, they build bodies that reflect intentional design, not reactive habits. In finance, they create wealth through consistent, aware decisions rather than emotional impulses. In relationships, they attract and maintain deep connections because they show up intentionally. In business, they scale impact because they operate from clarity, not chaos.
This isn’t its observable reality. And it’s available to you through one system: The Great Decisions Protocol.
My Son Changed Everything
When my son was born, I realized something that shook me to my core: every decision I made from that moment forward would shape not just my reality, but his. The weight of that responsibility forced me to confront a PAINFUL truth. I was making terrible decisions. And I knew exactly why.
In moments of anger, I made rash choices that I’d regret days later. In moments of stress, I’d reach for quick fixes that created long-term problems for myself. In moments of anxiety, I’d avoid decisions altogether, letting life happen to me instead of through me. I needed a system. Not another productivity hack. Not another motivational framework. A real system that would give me awareness in the moment and inhibition before the choice.
So I built one. I had no idea I’d ever share it. I had no idea it would transform my life. But it did. And now I’m sharing it with you.
The Foundation: Lessons From The Art of Accomplishment
This protocol emerged after I spent months absorbing content from The Art of Accomplishment podcast with Brett Kistler and Joe Hudson. Their work on emotional awareness and decision-making gave me the framework I needed.
[Watch The Art of Accomplishment lessons here:
What they taught me was simple but profound: your emotional state determines your decision quality. Not your intelligence. Not your willpower. Your emotional state. Once I understood that, everything clicked. I started logging my decisions. I started tracking my emotional states. And I started seeing patterns that were impossible to ignore.
How The Great Decisions Protocol Works
Here’s exactly what I did. And here’s exactly what you’re going to do.
Step 1: Log Your Decision + Emotional State
Every time you make a significant decision, capture two things: what decision you made, and how you were feeling when you made it (angry, calm, anxious, confident, rushed, present, etc.)
Don’t overthink it. or judge it. log it. The emotional state is your baseline. It’s the data point that will reveal everything about why you chose what you chose.
