Decisions. Decisions! DECISIONS!
How many do you make every day of your life? Before rising in the morning, just the thought of making some decisions makes you want to pull the covers over your head and forget it all. The process goes on all day long; sometimes all night too. You toss and turn dreading the decisions of the next day. Some are insignificant. Some affect the whole course of your life. The result, “I am glad I did, or I wish I had or hadn’t.”
Indecision=Time Wasted, Dreams Unfilled
Indecision costs business and industry billions of dollars every year. Chinese proverb say: “A thousand mile journey begins with the first step.” Sadly, many people never reach their goals and realize their dreams because they are unwilling to take that first step.
Decision Guidelines
Since you will be making decisions the rest of your life, perhaps the following will take the headaches and fatigue out of decision making for you.
The First Step
Are you a praying person? If no, skip this step. If yes, James 1:5 says “If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally.” God is not the rescue squad to bail you out after you make a mess of your life or business. He is a loving heavenly Father who wants to willing guide you to make wise decisions. Jesus said “you have not because you ask not.” So why not ask first?
Define the so-called “Problem”
If something is keeping you from getting what you want or need, you call it a problem. I prefer to call it a challenge or opportunity. Making a decision is difficult when you do not identify the real issue. On many occasions I have counseled couples who supposedly could not come to agreement on spending money, only to discover that the real issue was sex, discipline of children, or in-laws. If your business is not making any money, do some brainstorming, determine the real issue and fix it. Playing the blame game won’t help.
Review Priorities and Values
Your value system determines every choice you make. If you have conflicting values, decision making is tough. Your values change with age but it is next to impossible to go against the values you were taught as a child. My Dad was Sanford & Sons personified. His example still plagues me at times when I am trying to de-junk until I consciously rehearse what I now believe. Ron has taught you to “do what you do the best and delegate the rest.” Are you listening or experiencing decision fatigue trying to do it all yourself?
Consult Others
No one has all the answers. So swallow your pride and ask for help. So many times I have found the answer to make a difficult decision simply by asking someone else for advise. That is why you have a lawyer, business partner and/or a wife (maybe after 50 years you will get enough sense to listen to her; I did). And oh yea. I wonder what Ron would do?
Write a List of Options
A creative person is one who can come up with the most options in a given situation. Every so-called “Problem” has at least one option. If you are facing a difficult decision, sit down and write a list of every possible solution, even the ones you do not like. And again, tap some other brains for help.
One option is to eliminate having to repeat making the same decision over and over. Do you scrooge around trying to come up with all the paperwork every time you buy or sell a house, only to get to location having forgotten something? A check list or pre-prepared package would eliminate that frustration. A printed check list would eliminate coming home from the grocery store less the main thing you went after.
Evaluate and Choose Option(s)
Now, make an attempt to decide which options are valid or not, and eliminate the ones which are not. But get real! The best choice may not be the one you like. Perhaps you have been procrastinating making a decision because you do not want to pay the price. You may need to bury a dead horse; terminate a relationship; resolve a conflict; or some other tough choice. Whatever, but it is time to get it decided and done.
Do it NOW!
Well, did you do it? Feels good to get that decision off your mind, doesn’t it. You even may choose to do nothing but at least that is a decision.
The Supreme Decision
Most people dream about going to heaven some day. But many do not realize that a decision is required to get there, it is not automatic. The most important decision in all of your lifetime is to receive Jesus Christ as Savior who died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose from the dead on Easter morning to demonstrate his ultimate power over death, Hell and the grave.
Your whole eternal destiny depends on this decision.
“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9
