It comes down to your decision-making and obviously you can get

“It comes down to your decision-making, and obviously you can get better and better as a decision-maker as you play, and get reps and go through experiences and learn. But football’s the same as life: you’ve got to be a great decision-maker to have success.” Thus spoke Kirk Cousins, quarterback of the gridiron, but his words carry a wisdom that stretches far beyond the stadium. For what he declares is a truth not only of sport but of all human striving: that destiny is shaped not by chance alone, but by the countless choices a man makes, each step building the path of his future.

The ancients would have said: “A king is not crowned by fate, but by the judgments of his heart.” So too does Cousins remind us that life is not random chaos, but a battlefield of choices. Every moment is a crossroads, and the one who learns to choose wisely becomes master of his journey. In football, as in life, hesitation may bring defeat, rashness may bring ruin, but the steady hand of wise decision-making brings victory.

Consider the tale of Julius Caesar, who stood at the banks of the Rubicon. In that moment, he faced a choice: to retreat and preserve safety, or to cross and ignite the flames of war. With the words, “The die is cast,” he made his decision, and Rome itself was changed forever. Some praised him as bold, others condemned him as reckless—but none can deny that his single act of choice altered the course of history. From this we see that decisions hold the weight of empires, and no man is too small to escape their power.

In another age, we find Abraham Lincoln, faced with the searing question of slavery. Many urged compromise, many counseled caution, but he chose instead the hard road of justice. His decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation reshaped a nation and gave hope to generations. It was not an easy path; it was carved with blood and sorrow. Yet through the crucible of experience, Lincoln grew as a leader and revealed that wise choices are not always the safest, but the ones aligned with truth.

Cousins, speaking from the arena of sport, teaches us that practice refines the art of choice. Just as a quarterback studies, trains, and learns from mistakes, so too in life do we become better decision-makers through trial and error. Failures are not the end, but the teachers that sharpen judgment. Every wrong turn, if met with reflection, prepares us for the next moment of choice. To grow in wisdom is to accept that experience is the forge of discernment.

The lesson, then, is this: greatness is not found in avoiding choices, but in embracing them with courage and clarity. The man who fears deciding drifts like a ship without a rudder. But the man who chooses, who learns, who refines his decision-making through practice, becomes master of himself. In both football and life, success belongs not to the strongest or fastest, but to the one who discerns rightly when the moment calls.

Practical action follows: train your decision-making daily. In small matters, practice discipline—choose wisely what to eat, how to spend your time, what words to speak. In greater matters, seek counsel, weigh the options, and then act with resolve. Do not linger in endless hesitation, for indecision is its own defeat. And when mistakes come, as they surely will, let them be your tutors, not your chains.

So remember, O seekers of wisdom: every day you stand at many crossroads, and each choice is a brushstroke upon the canvas of your life. Be bold, be thoughtful, be steadfast. For as Cousins declared, both in the roar of the field and in the quiet of your own days, to be a great decision-maker is to walk the road of true success.