Are You Ready To Take Your Last Breath?

(Taken from the book: One Stupid Mistake, by Charlie Seraphin)

Mistakes are as natural as breathing. Everybody makes mistakes. Nobody is perfect. You probably don’t consciously think about breathing when you breathe, and you definitely don’t think about mistakes when you’re making them. With practice, however, you can control both your breath and your decision making. 

In meditation we learn to concentrate on our inward breath. Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling your lungs with air. Exhale through your mouth, allowing stress to escape on your outward breath. Focused breathing relieves stress. Similarly, focused thinking eliminates mistakes. Just as we can become conscious of our breath as we breathe in and out, we can learn to control our decision thought process, before we make stupid mistakes. Your health, your happiness and your decision making are all connected.

Have you ever thought about how many breaths you have left? Have you ever thought about, really focused on your last breath? Obviously we can’t be sure which will be our last breath, until we take it, but imagining that last breath can help us better understand good decision making. Mistakes are like breaths. Some people only stop and think about their stupid mistakes when they make the last one. What if your last breath is connected to your last stupid mistake? People die every day as a result of bad decisions. We hear their stories and wonder, “How could they have been so stupid?” But I’ll bet  you have done something and thought, “That was really stupid. I’m lucky I didn’t get killed.” 

Making fewer mistakes and eliminating repeat mistakes requires a little thought, a little concentration, and a willingness to change. 

(read more in the soon-to-be published "One Stupid Mistake" by Charlie Seraphin
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