Decisions & Actions:
Unveiling The Process.
“Decisions and actions—that’s all it is.” (Well, sort of; that’s half of the equation anyway… we’re getting to that.)
As we explore the intricacies of our experiences, let’s unravel the threads that guide us to them.
What we call “experience” or “having an experience” is us, in real-time, encountering “information”—and then dealing with it.
We filter this information through our “internal systems,” matching it to familiar patterns we’ve collected over the years.
(The human brain cannot process all the available information simultaneously, so we’ve developed the ability to automate processes capable of handling this information in ways that are “generally” accurate or useful.)
To navigate our physical world, we’ve evolved to capture bits of this information, categorize it quickly, and create a mental model of our reality.
By adulthood, we’ve honed an effective and efficient pattern recognition system that guides our decisions almost instinctively, categorizing experiences into “good” (safe) or “bad” (dangerous)—After a while, we see the patterns we expect to see.
This leads us to the act of decision-making, which transitions into taking action—even if that means not acting.
Consider the process:
Decisions and actions are secondary to an automated sorting of information filtered through the lens of past experiences and knowledge. The filters we use are our Questions and Answers. This equation, frequently executed, moves beneath the conscious level, manifesting as “programmed reactions”—our responses to experiences.
Again, “Decisions and actions” are the second half of a core equation: Part 1: (Questions + Answers) → Part 2: (Decisions & Actions).
This conditioning, “our programmed reactions,” shapes our reality.
Crafting your reality intentionally requires an understanding of how this works… an understanding of why you’re getting what you’re getting.
We’ve automated both parts of the equation, and both parts are required.
However, most of us focus on the Decisions & Actions part of the equation when trying to change something about our lives, as our behaviors at the level of making decisions and acting on them are visible, whereas the first part of this equation, the Questions & Answers part, is often completely unknown to us.
Upon encountering information, we employ filters: familiarity, preconfigured reactions, and deeper inquiries into what the experience signifies about us, to us, and for us. These filters, our Questions & Answers, stem from our foundational programming and automate our reactions to nearly every scenario.
By adulthood, this isn’t just habitual; it’s our default programming. (read: programmed reactions)
We navigate experiences by reflexively applying our answers to a set of internal questions, leading to our customary decisions and actions.
This deeply ingrained cycle reflects our “way of being”—a manifestation of our perspective, shaped by how we see ourselves and our place in the world.
It’s the questions we ask and the answers we’ve rehearsed that narrow down the decisions and actions available to us.
Once understood (and with deliberate awareness of how we are being), we unlock the ability to reshape our experiences as we choose.
This power comes from a deep understanding of the questions and answers that guide us to our unique “decisions & actions,” granting us autonomy and the capacity to author our own experiences—
by rewriting the questions and answers we use to perceive ourselves, the world, and ourselves in the world, we are effectively CHANGING the RULES.
After all, the questions we pose and the answers we cultivate dictate our decisions and actions, crafting our reality.
Recognizing and refining this process empowers us to craft our existence and our conscious experience of it.
We are pattern-seeking meaning-making machines.
Not only is that what we do—it’s WHAT we are and HOW we do it.
We have automated the creation of our experience out of necessity to conserve energy.
The questions you pose when encountering information (What does this mean about me? What does this mean to me? What does this mean for me?) and the answers you’ve continually given limit the decisions and actions available to you.
That first half of the equation, Questions & Answers, forms the basis of your perspective. It displays how you see the world, leading to the Decisions & Actions necessary for dealing with your experience in your unique way.
Rehearsed over time, this way of being creates the world you inhabit and defines your character.
Part 1: (Questions + Answers) → Part 2: (Decisions & Actions)
This process becomes your cadence—or QADAnce—perpetuating what you’re getting, even if it’s not what you want.
Essentially, you’ve rehearsed the way you are and have become a character actor. You’ve perfected the art of being You.
Wanna change what you’re getting?