2.08.2010

How to Improve Your Decision-Making Skills

Decisions. Decisions.

Do you ever find yourself unable to settle on a choice? Is the comfort of knowing you're making the right decision eluding you right now? Why can't you just decide for goodness' sake?

This Ain't No Menu, Baby. This Is Real Life!

Sometimes trying to make a decision is like trying to open a child-proof medicine bottle with oil on my hands. I get so caught up in pros and cons that even the original issue can become cloudy. I'd like to possess the ability to see my choices clearly, pick the one best for me in that moment, and never, ever second guess myself. Sometimes I get it right. But there are times when I seem frozen in indecision.

Ironically, I talk alot about choice. Choosing can be automatic it seems, and we do it constantly on a daily basis. Yet there are moments when a particular decision can have far-reaching implications, involving the well-being of others.

I also speak about how meditation has helped me to find clarity and peace while I ponder an issue. It can be a great source of comfort to listen for God-breathed answers while waiting on a God-sized response to my need. Then, if I'm not paying attention, I catch myself just staring at a menu. Just staring... like I'm in some state of menu meditation, when I come to the realization that it has been more than a few minutes. The party I am with are all looking at me with their silly grins while my eyes are glazed over like Krispy-Kreme doughnuts. You know what I'm saying? I'm in a real dilemna. The kind that, to take too long in deciding, can get me run over in traffic. No kidding.

Faith. Hope. Love.

Beloved, decision making need not be a struggle, no matter the gravity of my situation. To have certainty in my choices can be a reality, free of pain and sleep loss. The very same One who guides me to the point of decision, is the same One who guides me to the correct choice. The same One who guides me out of on-coming traffice, is the same One who in the blink of a sugar-coated eye, provides peace in all circumstances.

It takes faith to believe that I am led to the tipping point as surely as I am provided a way to escape a tumble. I have a hope that all my steps are accounted for, and that hope rests in the knowledge that God has never abandoned me. When I leave my struggle in his capable hands, the Peace of the Spirit of Christ settles over my issue. When this is accomplished, his Love compels me to forget my struggle, and to remember that others face greater challenges than I.

The Love of Christ sustains me...

No matter how serious my decision may be, the Love of Christ sustains me. Whether I am choosing between the sushi or the hamburger; trying again or quitting; leaving or staying; I can know that my decision is best when I let Christ in on the process, and choose to partner with him. Remember these words the next time a decision becomes a challenge (even if it's only a menu choice.) They were spoken by Jesus, the Christ to those who needed to hear it. I know I did. God bless your decisions.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

LUVWRX! Believe it.
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2.01.2010

Think. About. It.