Someone close to me told me I am very good at getting people to "get off the dime" and choose a direction to go. I confess that making decisions is not difficult for me. Perhaps it is because I have no fear of regret. Or perhaps I dislike the inertia of indecision more than the unknown consequences of a choice made.
Lately, my ability to post to this blog, to rest without stress, and even escape into entertainment have been thwarted because I have been helping a loved one move out of a home that will be, if all goes as planned, condemned and bulldozed in the coming weeks. Decades of hoarded items, each the germ of a potential project, had become an overwhelming pile of of procrastination. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, certainly these items occupied the rest stops along the way.
While I tried my best to make decisions about items that their owner would agree with, eventually I could not make progress looking through those eyes. I became overwhelmed and depressed at so much left undecided, to the point that I had started doing what he had done: I just moved items from one pile to another, postponing the decision until later. Eventually, I had to become my brutally cold deciding self, since all of what he viewed as treasure I could see was turning into trash that was burying him alive. Even so, I know he will not look at what I've done as something that makes him happy. He still has intentions for items he has not touched in over 30 years.
In business, the inability to make a decision, whether it is from analysis paralysis or lack of alignment, doesn't mean that nothing is happening. But it does mean that what is happening will not be strategic; it will be at a comfort level of the persons deciding (which typically is not stretching towards innovation or even breaking a pattern of flat-line growth). If you're waiting for someone else to make the decision for you, rest assured... there is always someone out there like me, willing to make a decision for you if you tarry too long.
If you are a believer in Christ, you should not fear making decisions, since He has your back (and your front) on all things. He'd rather see you try and fall down (and get up again), then just stand there waiting to perfect walking by, um, standing. A stone tablet will probably not fall out of the sky with instructions on it. He's believing you've learned to listen to that still small voice that says, "go this way". If you're unsure, ask Him for wisdom and guidance, then step out. He'll help you.
Lately, my ability to post to this blog, to rest without stress, and even escape into entertainment have been thwarted because I have been helping a loved one move out of a home that will be, if all goes as planned, condemned and bulldozed in the coming weeks. Decades of hoarded items, each the germ of a potential project, had become an overwhelming pile of of procrastination. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, certainly these items occupied the rest stops along the way.
While I tried my best to make decisions about items that their owner would agree with, eventually I could not make progress looking through those eyes. I became overwhelmed and depressed at so much left undecided, to the point that I had started doing what he had done: I just moved items from one pile to another, postponing the decision until later. Eventually, I had to become my brutally cold deciding self, since all of what he viewed as treasure I could see was turning into trash that was burying him alive. Even so, I know he will not look at what I've done as something that makes him happy. He still has intentions for items he has not touched in over 30 years.
In business, the inability to make a decision, whether it is from analysis paralysis or lack of alignment, doesn't mean that nothing is happening. But it does mean that what is happening will not be strategic; it will be at a comfort level of the persons deciding (which typically is not stretching towards innovation or even breaking a pattern of flat-line growth). If you're waiting for someone else to make the decision for you, rest assured... there is always someone out there like me, willing to make a decision for you if you tarry too long.
If you are a believer in Christ, you should not fear making decisions, since He has your back (and your front) on all things. He'd rather see you try and fall down (and get up again), then just stand there waiting to perfect walking by, um, standing. A stone tablet will probably not fall out of the sky with instructions on it. He's believing you've learned to listen to that still small voice that says, "go this way". If you're unsure, ask Him for wisdom and guidance, then step out. He'll help you.
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