Who are you listening to for advice?
Listening to every piece of advice given to you can be frustrating and lead to poor decisions on your part.
Whether you’re making breakfast or deciding what to wear in the morning, your brain is making upward of 35,000 decisions each day, according to many resources.
By the evening, you’re exhausted, but you can’t quite put your finger on why.
Daily decisions include: When to get up? What to wear? When or if to shower? What to eat? Turn left? Turn right? Speed up? Slow down? Say hello? Be kind? Smile? Ignore? Exercise? Take a nap?
On top of those, we have decisions on our career, education, family, finances, relationships, faith, etc.
The need to make decisions adds up quickly! Our brains are constantly in decision mode.
Most of our everyday decisions are not critical, but the choices we make add up over time. This can be good or bad. Sometimes we know the outcome of our decisions in an instance, while some of the results aren’t revealed for a lifetime.
How do you make decisions?
I believe there are at least three ways to consider what is best.
- What does my GUT say about this decision?
- What does GOD say about this decision?
- What do OTHERS say about this decision?
Rate each category from 1-10. Add those numbers up and divide by three to get the average. If the average is greater than eight, then you are probably on the right track. If your average is less than eight, then you might need to wait and gain more insight or look for a better solution. Beware of too much self-talk and people-pleasing in the process. Be honest with yourself.
There is a great passage in the ancient scriptures that demonstrates the importance of getting the right advice.
Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel to do such and such, but I have advised them to do so and so. – 2 SAMUEL 17:15
Absalom was seeking to overthrow his father’s dynasty. He received good advice from a bad person and bad advice from a good person. Talk about confusing! One adviser said, “such and such” and the other adviser said, “so and so”.
Don’t get caught in the paralysis of analysis. Learn to discern! Be selective when it comes to the voices you allow inside your head.
Eventually you will need to move from discussion mode to decision mode. Second-guessing yourself will only slow you down. Make up your mind and go for it.
Creating a trusted board of advisors will help you make better decisions.
Many of the world’s most successful people credit their accomplishments to their coach or group of personal advisors. They should be a group of people with varying expertise who can help you make important decisions in different areas of your life.
The purpose of a board of advisors is not to abdicate responsibility for decision-making, but to guide you to make the best possible decisions for your life.
Think and pray before you make decisions that will have lasting impact. As my college professor used to tell me “Remind people that what they do today, impacts tomorrow.”
Choice’s matter. Learning to live with the choices we make can bring great satisfaction or lingering regret. What you decide is up to you.
Asking God for wisdom in all our lives. Pray about your decisions. Something like this prayer would be wise to consider.
“Father, my first and greatest choice is to choose You! Be first in my life and guide my thinking and decision-making. Help me to both seek and discern wise counsel and use me to be the same for others. Amen.”