Day 17 / Decisions, Decisions

Indecision drives me crazy!...Whether it’s in someone else or myself. Indecision is paralyzing. I hate to consider how much time in my life that I’ll never get back has been wasted trying to get a group to decide where to eat lunch...or sitting behind someone in the drive-thru who obviously hadn’t decided ahead of time what they wanted to eat. Some decisions that seem to take a very long time to make are ones that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Like where to go to lunch. Some decisions are monumental. I wonder if we take nearly as long to make those decisions as we do lesser ones.

Take a look at these quotations concerning decision-making. Maybe one of them will strike a chord with you.

Roy Disney (nephew of the late Walt Disney) has said, "It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are."

Aaron Tippin (country singer) has sang, “You've got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything."

Eminem (recording artist) has said:

Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity
to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
would you capture it, or just let it slip?

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to do the best we know how at the moment...if it doesn’t turn out right, we can modify it as we go along."

There is currently a television commercial airing where Brett Favre is looking at a television in a store. The store employee tries to convince him that men who are decisive are strong leaders (or something like that). Brett immediately says he’ll take the television...and in the next instant waffles. While this commercial is funny–-if you have followed Favre’s on-again-off-again career–-it illustrates how people have trouble making decisions...and sticking with them.

There is an incredible amount of information available concerning the decision-making process. None of it will make any difference whatsoever if we are not willing to put it into practice. So, in regard to our 40-Day Journey, is choosing not to make decisions to engage the difference between passive pity and active compassion?

Maybe Will Rogers was on to something when he said, "Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there."

- Sheree Yasko Hill