I recently read a quote by the late Christian Evangelist, Myles Munroe;
“Our life is the sum total of all the decisions we make everyday, and those decisions are determined by our priorities.”
We make decisions every single day of our lives; some are minute and some life changing. Even when we procrastinate and cannot make up our mind, we are making a decision to do so. Decision making is not always easy, particularly if it will go on to impact the lives of others around us.
Fear can mean we struggle to make a decision. The very idea that we will be wholly responsible for the outcome of the decision can make us step back in the hope that everything will sort out of its own accord. It rarely will. Decisions made today can go onto impact our lives in 20 years time. Therefore it is important we are well informed and non emotional when making decisions. We cannot afford for our emotions to influence our thinking.
Our priorities will change according to our stage in life. The decisions we make in our early twenties will greatly differ to those made in our early 40’s. As we mature in age, we should also mature in wisdom.
I recall when I was a teenager, I yearned to be am adult, to come and go as I pleased, to stay up until whatever time I liked, to be independent. My mum would say many a time;
“Enjoy your youth as being an adult is not all it is cracked up to be”.
I thought my mum just wanted to spoil my fun and hinder my moving from a child to a young adult. Looking back my mum was right. As a child and teenager I rarely had to make decisions. I was certainly responsible for a number of activities as I grew up in a single parent household. However, I was spared from having to make decisions. This was my mum’s territory and she did us proud.
What is your approach when decision making? Do you face it head on or procrastinate?
How has this impacted on your life?
organisedlady 
How do I make decisions? Sometimes rather quickly relying on an intuitive sense derived from many years on this earth. I have never been afraid a lot about making decisions and most often find myself in leadership position in a group setting. Once a pastor said of me…”He is not afraid of taking responsibility.”
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Thanks for sharing your experience Marvin. There is definitely a leader within you that presents itself once you are in a group situation.
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“Enjoy your youth as being an adult is not all it is cracked up to be”. –every mom’s words. Lol!
Decision making is indeed hard. Me, being a new leader, decision making is very important. We always have to make fast decisions. I don’t usually have enough time to think before deciding and that’s what I really wanted to learn, to make the right decision in a short period of time.
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Decision making takes practice. We certainly learn when we make the wrong choices.
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Such a timely and sensitive topic. I tend to make radical decisions just a bit too quickly. Now that I am getting a little wiser, I catch myself just before making another life changing decision. I find myself rather foolish in retrospect when things don’t pan out. On the other hand, my life is seldom boring.
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Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. I can imagine you have a very eventful life!
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You’re so right that our decision making strategy changes throughout our lives. The me at 20 sure thinks differently about the impact of decisions now that I’m 59. As Marvin wrote, as a Christian, I try to remember to stop and pray before taking any big steps–I know the Lord is there to help me and that I shouldn’t rely on myself first.
Your mom was sure spot on!
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Thank goodness we grow with time! We should not lean on our own understanding as our wisdom is limited. God is certainly our guide.
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Yes, I love this. Being very direct and intentional with decisions allows us to grow and achieve greater results. Having a set time management plan, regularly, definitely has helped me with the process. Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks for giving your insight.
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Once I have as much information as I can get I make a decision. Sometimes I make mistakes but that’s life for you. Happens to all human beings.
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Yes we certainly all make mistakes.
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How do I approach decision making? This not how I have always approached it but at the age of 74, I can see there has been some maturation in the decision-making process. I do it now to a large extent through who I am. My discipline and priorities are pretty much in place; so I have a good idea who I am and what I stand for. I am a Christian and a large number of decisions are made from that basis. “The chief end of man is to love God and enjoy Him forever.” “Love the Lord your God with all your soul and all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. On these two hang all the law and the commandments” Not to say I don’t revert at times and make decisions based on more inmmature values. And, I have found that making decisions in the way previously decribed has so positively impacted areas of my life not orignally even considered in the decision-making process.
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Thank you for sharing your experience Marvin. You clearly operate on a spiritual level as do I. My flesh certainly tries to get in the way!
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Our priorities are heavily influenced by our emotions. That’s why it’s so important to know ourselves—and that task takes some people many years. Through the passage of time, we gain wisdom, especially about what is inside of us, what drives us. And we make better decisions as a result.
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Thanks for your pearls of wisdom!
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