December 3, 2009 On Learning How to Make Good Decisions

Philippians 4:13 - I  can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.

Now that we try to be spiritually-guided in our decision-making, we realize that our decisions reflect who we are.  If we are frightened little children inside, we will make decisions little children make.  If we are healthy adults, we will make decisions like healthy adults.  So our quest is to always make decisions as responsible, healthy business people.  In our business life, decisions reflect:

· what we know

· what we don’t know

· what we are trying to achieve

· who we are

Making good decisions at work is a function of integrating all four elements.  We need to maximize what we know, reduce what we don’t know, clarify what we can and sift it all through the prism of who we are. “Good” decisions, then, are those that optimize the benefits for the largest number of people.  Good decision-makers are those who make decisions that are reflected through the reflection of a strong, healthy sense of themselves.

Handling this situation is very much like handling the other changes that occur in our lives.  First, we must be gentle on ourselves. This means not requiring perfection: we recognize that none of life's decisions is perfect, but is rather our best guess, with guidance, regarding the trade-off of several mixed alternatives. Being gentle means taking the time we need to gather the information and to obtain the support needed. Being gentle means recognizing that the decision we make may be wrong --but that we will learn the lessons needed to be able to move forward.  Few decisions are completely unchangeable.  And if a given decision is really wrong, we can grow from having made the mistake.

Being gentle means listening to the guidance we receive from God’s Holy Spirit. God recently told me to “Shut up and stop whining” when I felt frantic about my economic security.  Others have heard divine answers to career questions through other people. Answers like this come when we allow ourselves to be open to wisdom from others.

On Making Many Attempts

We would not expect a child to learn to ride a bicycle without support, many attempts, and a great deal of practice.  We provide that gentle support to our children.  So too with ourselves: we must allow ourselves to make many attempts at good decision-making before getting comfortable.

Making many attempts means that we recognize that our comfort level will grow over time: it is a little like using your left hand to write with if you are right-handed.  It feels awkward; it doesn't appear professional; we feel foolish: but we will get better over time.

On Practice Makes “Polished”—not Perfect

We need to recognize that practice never made perfect, we only thought it did.  It is one of the “old wives tales” that needs to be abandoned with our new insight.  As we practice making decisions with our new awareness of the spiritual nature of every action, we will have opportunities to compare old and new decisions.  We will come to recognize that our new decisions are not perfect, (any more than our old ones were), but they are getting more and better “polished” over time.

As we see our decisions as polished, not perfect, we can better accept ourselves in our world, celebrating that which we do well, and learning from the rest.

The divine presence of God in our hearts will enable our decisions to be a means of growth – both our personal growth as well as the growth of those who will be impacted by our decisions. With this biblical understanding, I can say with Paul: “I can do all things [even learn to make decisions] in Christ who strengthens me!” Philippians 4:13 - CJS

Prayer for Decisions

Lord, please let me make the decision that most meets the needs of those affected.  Let me not try to serve myself, but rather to act with justice, to serve others, loving tenderly while walking humbly with God.  (This is from Micah in the Hebrew Testament).