Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

 

We make a lot of decisions in life, in fact, life is all about choices. We often place a lot of emphasis on the act of the decision itself and it is certainly important, but the decision is just the first step. Follow-through and implementation are always the hard parts of any decision. The best decisions in the world can be doomed by poor implementation.

Consider hiring decisions, you can hire the perfect person for a job, however if they are not properly on-boarded and trained they will likely fail. How about a new product line or adding an additional business location? The decision can be right for business and represent huge potential, but if the project is rolled out poorly or not well executed, the decision does not matter.

Think about the decisions in your personal life. How are you doing with implementation and follow through?

*Part of this MMM concept was borrowed from “At The Table” podcast.

Decisions…

My wife and I have a variety of home improvement projects going on at home.  This process has reminded me of how differently we go about making decisions.  As a part of this process, I recently asked if she wanted to go to the store with me to make a certain selection.  Her response was telling, saying “No, I do not have the time it will take for you to stand there and stare at the options and over think your choice”.  She might have a point, and this was just for some picture frames!  I am proud to say, that on several of the decisions on these projects I have been able to make some speedy selections and keep the project moving.  Nonetheless, definitive and fast decision making is not my strong suit.  A good friend, and longtime MMM reader, shared the below thought with me recently…

“Remember, the road of life is littered with squirrels that could not make a decision.”

For many of you this is not a problem.  For those like me, for whom it is, we need to work on it, lest we get run over!

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Choices

Life is made up of a series of choices.  We make choices each day of our life by prioritizing activities and choosing courses of action.  It is often frustrating and challenging to make those choices.  The alternatives are equally appealing, and the ramifications of the decisions seem so serious.  The best we can do at any one point in time is to make a choice with the information and knowledge available to us at that point in time. Consider your alternatives, study your options, seek spiritual guidance and make an educated decision.  Once a choice has been made, go on down the road of life.  There is no value to be gained from beating ourselves up over past choices and poor decisions.  Sure, we should learn from past decisions, but there really is no need to re-live poor choices or to constantly second guess ourselves.  Learn from those choices and grow. Make the best choice you can with the information available to you at the time. 

Have a blessed week making choices…

You miss every shot you do not take.

It is an interesting thought and really quite simple.  If you do not take a shot, you will not score.  You must make an attempt in order to give yourself a shot at winning.  Said differently, we cannot be afraid to try.  We shouldn’t be so conservative that we never give ourselves a real chance to accomplish something.  Oftentimes, I fall prey to this myself and tend to be somewhat cautious and conservative.  In order to grow, I need to learn to take more shots.  I am not just referring to the big decisions in life such as spouses and careers.  This certainly applies to those decisions, but this analogy also applies to little things throughout the day.  Maybe you need to take a shot at meeting someone new, at changing something at work, at becoming more involved in your community.

Take a shot.  Give yourself a chance to score in the game of life!

Work like you are going on vacation tomorrow…

Do you know what I mean?  Seriously, don’t you feel like you get really productive before you leave for vacation?  I try to keep my desk at the office pretty neat, but it is never as neat and clean as it is before I leave town.  Somehow before leaving town I always find a way to get a lot of work done; I become more productive.  Some people that work for me might tell you that I just delegate better before I leave town, maybe so but… 

I really do tend to get more focused and accomplish more right before I know I am going to be away.  Why can’t we work like that all the time?  Why can’t we always run our lives the way we do the week before we leave the office, making decisions, cleaning off the desk, returning calls, getting stuff done? 

By the way, I am currently on vacation.  Yes, I got a lot done before I left town!

Why do we care?

Why do we care so much about what other people think?  Too often we let that thought drive our decisions and actions.  I know I do; I care.  I want people to like me, or at least think positively about me.  We should not let that motivation change who we are, or what we believe.  We should never be too absorbed by what others think.  Taken one step farther, we need to be realistic about our ability to influence.  While I am a strong proponent of leadership through influence, we do not control others’ thoughts and actions.  We can model leadership behaviors.  How people chose to act in their own lives is not dependent upon our behavior.  As humans we are independent thinkers and make our own decisions, it is a power God has granted us.  As such we have influence but not control over those we love and lead. 

Just be careful about taking yourself too seriously.  It can be dangerous…

Don't take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
- Miguel Angel Ruiz

Work like you are going on vacation tomorrow...

Do you know what I mean?  Seriously, don’t you feel like you get really productive before you leave for vacation?  I try to keep my desk at the office pretty neat.  But it is never as neat and clean as it is before I leave town.  Somehow before leaving town I always find a way to get a lot of work done.  I become more productive.  Some people that work for me might tell you that I just delegate better before I leave town, maybe so but… 

I really do tend to get more focused and accomplish more right before I know I am going to be away.  Why can’t we work like that all the time?  Why can’t we always run our lives the way we do the week before we leave the office, making decisions, cleaning off the desk, returning calls, getting stuff done? 

By the way, I am currently out of the country for a few days.  Yes, I got a lot done before I left town!