Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Making decisions is a choice. Even not making a decision is a choice.

And with decisions comes consequences. Truth or Consequences was a television show that ran from 1940 to 1988 where contestants that were selected from the studio audience could either tell the truth (answer a question) or be forced to pay the consequences (perform a stunt). Truth or Consequences is also a city in and the county seat of Sierra County, New Mexico, United States.

From the start, most TV contestants preferred to answer the question wrong and not complete the “Truth” portion in order to perform the usually zany and embarrassing “Consequences” stunt.

Now, often people assume a consequence is bad. But it is just a result of an active decision or one that occurs by lack of action. There is usually no fine or outward issue with a consequence. It is a result or effect of an action or condition.

Where the consequence comes in that is important is when you CHOOSE to give yourself a reward or punishment. This is when you determine based on a choice you made and a commitment you promised. So if you do not keep your promise to yourself (or commitment to another person) then you deny yourself some reward. This is to help motivate you.

When you make a commitment out loud for others to hear then the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, or your pledge or undertaking is now public. You made a public declaration of your commitment.

In the end, it is always your integrity that is on the line. Yes, sometimes there are extenuating circumstances that keep you from your commitments. This is usually not the case in most instances.

What happens when you make a choice and do not keep your commitment? What are the consequences? If you confess to your transgression with a formal statement to those people who heard you make the original declaration admitting you did not keep the commitment, what are the consequences?

The confession usually means you want to make some kind of reconciliation. Again, these are choices you make and the seriousness of the consequences may reflect your serious intention to the commitment.

Your decision is a choice that brings you to a conclusion or resolution reached after some consideration. You make the choice between alternative courses of action in any situation.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

~Viktor Frankl, Holocaust Survivor who became a doctor, neurologist, and psychiatrist

Check out Oren Klaff’s STRONG Method for making decisions and getting the deal.