Change Your Life in 20 Years with 5-Second Decisions: Hidden in Daily Choices

The Power of Small Decisions

Decisions or events that can change your life are often made in just a few seconds or happen within a few days. When I look back on my experiences over the years, I've realized that from a historical perspective, there are some key moments in the past five, ten, or twenty years.

For example, there are the breaking points of certain events, turning points in life, the people you met, the things you did, the new things you tried, the activities you participated in, and the people who helped you at critical moments. But you only understand these things when you look back after you've gone through them. Just like when you're in the middle of a change, you don't feel it because it has become part of your daily life.

The change in one or two years can be quite significant, but the change in one or two days is very small, just like the story of a frog in slowly boiling water. For instance, if you spend half a year or a year losing twenty or thirty pounds, the people around you every day may hardly notice the change because they are constantly adjusting their perception of you. But those who haven't seen you for a few years or still have an old impression of you will be shocked by your change.

Everyone hopes to make a big change, like losing a dozen pounds, building muscles, making a lot of money, or acquiring a new hobby or skill. We often imagine these things but rarely think about the fact that such changes require equal, or even double, ten - fold, or hundred - fold efforts to be truly achieved.

When you envy someone's figure, you should also know that they may have been sticking to a healthy lifestyle for one or two years, controlling their diet by avoiding greasy food, reducing salt, sugar, and oil, and exercising every day. It takes two or three years of perseverance to get the results you see now.

The Accumulation of Small Decisions

The accumulation of small decisions is reflected in our daily choices. For example, what to eat for dinner tonight, what to do this evening. Should you watch some short videos or read a book? Write a few articles or read a novel? Hang out with friends and have a late - night snack or go for a run outside? Every small choice will eventually add up to the change you want.

In daily life, those small decisions and actions that seem insignificant and have no immediate impact may bring about huge changes after one or two years of accumulation. When you look back, you'll find that the starting point was right there, and that event back then was the trigger. But at that time, you had no idea that this decision or choice would have such a big impact.

This is similar to choosing a job, settling in a city, or participating in certain activities. These decisions may seem unremarkable in daily life. But the people you met and the opportunities they gave you at that time may become the starting point of a fateful encounter and change your future path. As the ones experiencing the change, we often don't feel it because time passes gradually, unlike looking back from a historical perspective later.

Five, ten, or twenty years later, when looking back from a historical perspective, many things will seem so obvious, clear, and even simple. You may wonder what choices you would make if you could go back in time. I also have such thoughts. For example, if I had encountered a certain opportunity back then, what should I have done?

But now I realize that it's not that easy. Even if you know all the details of what will happen later, you may still not be able to change anything. Because if you can't even change yourself, what else can you change?

The saying "There is nothing new under the sun" is true. We used to think we missed out on some opportunities, but looking back, most people can't really catch them. Catching an opportunity requires vision, luck, and ability. Just knowing about it is different from actually doing it, and doing it once is different from doing it continuously.

Taking Action in the Present

This experience has made me think that we should take every choice seriously and do a good job in what's in front of us. A single choice may not seem to have a big impact, but if it's a series of choices, like for a hundred, two hundred, three hundred days, or even a year, these daily choices will be connected and form a huge whirlpool that affects your direction in the next few years.

Few people can predict their direction in the next one or two years. What you can do is choose the right direction now and keep going. It's like climbing stairs. First, step on the step in front of you and then keep moving up.

As long as you keep the general direction right, such as exercising for health, making money, developing various abilities, learning to handle traffic, create products, do sales, make friends, and expand your circle, you won't go too far wrong.

As for the details, like where to go, who to be friends with, who to cooperate with, what to do, and when to do it, you have to explore them step by step on your own.

The Importance of Recording

Finally, I strongly recommend that you record and write down your stories, experiences, every choice and thought. Write down what you've experienced, what you've done, and who you've met every day, week, and month. Record your current state and changes.

When you look back at these records one or two years, three or five years later, you'll find them very valuable. I like to read my old writings now, like the diaries from 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The records of my feelings, experiences, confusions, and emotions when I first started making short videos and building my private domain can truly restore what I went through at that time. When you look at the past from the perspective of an "experienced person" and combine it with your thoughts at that time, it will be very interesting.

If you look at the past with your current knowledge, you'll think about what you would do if you had a second chance. Similarly, the current you is also the past you, and you may encounter similar problems in the future. So how will you judge and choose now? It's really an interesting thing.

With records, data, and reviews, there will be more room for growth and opportunities for improvement. These are your materials. With the help of AI, you can hand these materials over to it for analysis. I've tried this method, and the effect is very obvious.

The most important thing is that we should focus on the present and do a good job in what's in front of us. Only by doing well now can we lay a solid foundation for the future.

Daily Reading & Writing by Xiaolu 09/09/2025 [Day 735]