day 964: Firm Decisions...Still

This week I have been reviewing past posts and I found that this was one of the most widely-read back in the early days of Purposed worKING so I thought it worth reposting today....have a great weekend!

  "...Don't look back."

Good decision-making is a skill. Not everyone makes the best of decisions and all of us would be really lousy at it if we didn't have others to bounce decisions off of before we make them. I find that the worst decisions are the ones that are made without the advice and counsel of trusted advisers and counselors. I have found myself, more than ever before, telling people that they need to "pass the ball at least four times before they take a shot" (the motion offense). This means that we should get the advice and counsel from at least four other people before we make a decision. It appears harder to make good career decisions today when everything is so uncertain. If it is unclear about the security of the company, then it is very hard to have certainty about one's own job or career. So, decisions about career and work are really hard to make right now. What is still true though is that good decision-makers are ones who when they make the decision, they stick with it, follow-through and live with the consequences and the responsibility of the decision. A decision that is not followed-through was not really a decision at all. We all get faced with these, tens of times a day, and we have to either stick with the decision or be wishy-washy and flimsy in our decision-making.

We all know which type of decision-maker we would like to be, but it is clearly hard to be resolute and firm in our decisions. But, that is the example we are given over and over in the Bible; that the decisions we make, we are to stick with and not look back. There is no better example of that than in Genesis 19:17 and the story of Lot and his wife. The Angel was clear when he said; "...Don't look back". How many times do we know that are not to look back, but we do, because we don't trust our decisions? Fortunately, we don't turn into pillars of salt each time we do, but we do in some way erode our own confidence and the confidence from others when we are seen looking over our shoulders. Today, you may be facing a decision that needs to just be made. Once you have prayed over it, and received the counsel of your four trusted advisers, then make the decision with courage and don't look back. There are other decisions that you have made that you are now waffling and wondering if you made the right decision. Again, if you prayed over the decision and received your counsel, and then you made the decision feeling like it was the best course of action, then before you go back on it, live with it for awhile and follow-through to see if the decision turns our to be right. You will never know for sure if you go back on the decision before you allow time to prove it out. Firm decision-making is not easy for anyone, but it is a skill that you can perfect. Now would be a great season to begin working on how to make better and firmer decisions. Not just for you, but for all the other people around you who look to you to be the one they can count on. It is God that puts you in the position where others look up to you and one way to be the example for them is to be one who is known for "not looking back" on decisions made.


Reference: Genesis 19:17 (New Living Testament)

day 619: When Yes Means Yes

"My yes means yes because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no."

I've written before that I think one of the worst phrases spoken in business is, "I don't disagree." I wish that when we heard that we would all push back on the person saying it and ask, "So, you agree, is that what you are saying?" Not being strong enough to say "yes" or "no" is not the sign of a decisive and confident person or a leader. Leaders say "yes" when they mean it and "no" when they disagree. And best, if they are undecided, then they are confident enough in themselves that they can say so and then go seek new information or data to help them make the decision. Those who flip-flop back and forth from yes to no to yes again only add confusion into a situation and ultimately hurt their own reputation and standing with their peers and bosses. In times of stress and turmoil, we don't need wishy-washy decisions. We need firm and convicted yeses or no's. Those who build that reputation are the ones who will move up and become counted on for more.

As we strive to bring glory to God in our work, as our purpose, we will be well served to follow Paul's example on being decisive. Paul rebukes those that criticized him for changing his mind. He does not say that we can't change our mind, when we haven't yet made up our mind, but he makes it clear that when we say yes, we need to stick with it and be like the example of Christ who never wavered between yes and no. In this time we live in it is hard to be firmly in a yes or a no camp as the pull to change is great. Today, know what is yes and what is no and stick with the decision. Be firm if you have to, it's okay. At the end of a day where you stick with the decision made, you will have been more of a shining example than you know.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:17-19 (New Living Testament)

day 525: Decision Day

Today, all across America, people will be taking time before, after, or during their workday to go to an election poll and cast their vote. This happens in some form each year, but it's only during the Presidential elections and the two-years after that the country starts paying much attention. On election day we are given the opportunity to exercise our democratic right and we choose our elected officials and take a stand on issues that are up for vote. We stand in a booth, or we fill out a ballot and we make decisions. It's not unlike work and the jobs that we do where we make decisions all day long. The difference here is that we make a decision that no one really knows that we made unless we tell others when we are asked. Nonetheless we are forced, all at one time as a country, to make a decision. I sometimes wonder if one of the reasons we have such a low voting percentage in our country doesn't hinge on people's unwillingness, or fear, of making a decision. If our jobs and workplace are any indication, then this could be a real factor to low voter turnout. I have observed how hard it is for people to make decisions. I know that more people are indecisive than not, because when someone is decisive, they get called out and recognized for being so in a very favorable way. We are to be decisive and know where we stand on things. James tells us just this in his letter; "People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do." Decisiveness does not come naturally to us. Many of us have to be forced into it before we will make a decision. That is probably why there is an election day process; to be a forcing function for a collective decision. Today, consider if you are being decisive or not? Are there decisions that others are waiting on from you? If so, also consider that today would be a good day to get those decisions behind you. Make them and move on. Election day is a decision day, so let this be a decisive day for all of us.

Reference: James 1:7 (New Living Testament)

day 335: Firm Decisions

Good decision-making is a skill. Not everyone makes the best of decisions and all of us would be really lousy at it if we didn't have others to bounce decisions off of before we make them. I find that the worst decisions are the ones that are made without the advice and counsel of trusted advisers and counselors. I have found myself, more than ever before, telling people that they need to "pass the ball at least four times before they take a shot" (the motion offense). This means that we should get the advice and counsel from at least four other people before we make a decision. It appears harder to make good career decisions today when everything is so uncertain. If it is unclear about the security of the company, then it is very hard to have certainty about one's own job or career. So, decisions about career and work are really hard to make right now. What is still true though is that good decision-makers are ones who when they make the decision, they stick with it, follow-through and live with the consequences and the responsibility of the decision. A decision that is not followed-through was not really a decision at all. We all get faced with these, tens of times a day, and we have to either stick with the decision or be wishy-washy and flimsy in our decision-making. We all know which type of decision-maker we would like to be, but it is clearly hard to be resolute and firm in our decisions. But, that is the example we are given over and over in the Bible; that the decisions we make, we are to stick with and not look back. There is no better example of that than in Genesis 19:17 and the story of Lot and his wife. The Angel was clear when he said; "...Don't look back". How many times do we know that are not to look back, but we do, because we don't trust our decisions? Fortunately, we don't turn into pillars of salt each time we do, but we do in some way erode our own confidence and the confidence from others when we are seen looking over our shoulders. Today, you may be facing a decision that needs to just be made. Once you have prayed over it, and received the counsel of your four trusted advisers, then make the decision with courage and don't look back. There are other decisions that you have made that you are now waffling and wondering if you made the right decision. Again, if you prayed over the decision and received your counsel, and then you made the decision feeling like it was the best course of action, then before you go back on it, live with it for awhile and follow-through to see if the decision turns our to be right. You will never know for sure if you go back on the decision before you allow time to prove it out. Firm decision-making is not easy for anyone, but it is a skill that you can perfect. Now would be a great season to begin working on how to make better and firmer decisions. Not just for you, but for all the other people around you who look to you to be the one they can count on. It is God that puts you in the position where others look up to you and one way to be the example for them is to be one who is known for "not looking back" on decisions made.


Reference: Genesis 19:17 (New Living Testament)

day 189: Decisiveness

The best leaders we can work for are those who, regardless if we like the outcome or not, we can count on for fast and well-thought out decisions. We've probably all worked for someone along the way who was wishy-washy or a slow decision maker or worse yet, someone who makes a decision and then when pushed or challenged, backs down and changes their mind. We don't like working for those people and enough of that and we get driven crazy. Every day we are faced with hundreds and hundreds of decisions and the ones that matter the most are the ones where others are counting on us to be decisive and provide clear direction or answers to a problem. Making decisions is not always easy. Many times we need input from others and we need the facts and the data to support the decision. Sometimes, the decisions are so hard and of such consequence that we wish they would go away or someone else would make them for us. I remember one person who I worked with who used to say, "a decision deferred is decision made." Yes, it drove me crazy. We actually get very good direction on how to go about making good decisions in the book of James. We read; "If you need wisdom - if you want to know what God wants you to do - ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do." Even in James we are being told that we need to be decisive in our lives and to to be sure that we are not tossing back and forth in the way that we do or don't make up our minds. I find that the people who are the best decision makers also become the leaders that others look up to and follow. The question today for you is are you one of these people? Are you as decisive as you should be? As we read, God wants us to be, so today would be a great day to examine ourselves and see just how decisive we are.

Reference: James 1: 5-8 (New Living Testament)