Making Good Choices

 

I am the master of my faith, I am the captain of my soul. ~ Invictus, William Ernest  Henley

 

 Occasionally people lose their brains. Lately I’ve seen them scattered everywhere I go.☺ I’m not trying to belittle anyone—part of my brains were there with all the rest. I’m just saying that when we act too quickly and don’t think, mistakes are made. So stop and take a time out. Consider what is required to make good choices.

 

Here are some tips:

 

1. Think about the future. Does your decision achieve immediate gratification or long term satisfaction—and not necessarily satisfaction for you, but the greater good?

 

2. THINK—Give the issue, whatever it is, a chance to percolate. Waiting long enough to consider all options is advisable unless you are in an emergent or urgent situation.

 

3. Have some discipline—as much as we would all like to have what we want when we want it, it’s not always possible.You have to act responsibly and with full realization that you’ll live with the choice.

 

You have to act responsibly for all concerned.

 

 4. Pray—When in doubt, I believe it’s wise for each of us to hand over the ultimate decision to a greater power than ourselves.

 

While you are in the process of contemplating your choices, consider three questions as your guide to making a good and, most likely, best decision:

 

Will this choice bring me peace? Consider that short term chaos may bring better lasting peace because the easiest decision isn’t necessarily the one that brings the most long term comfort Think about whether the decision will help surround you with the good, the pure and the positive. Consider whether if your choice will eliminate toxins from your life, especially toxic people who drain your energy and your excitement. Will the choice help you to quiet your raging ego? Being humble is character-building.

 

Will this choice add to my energy?

If your individual, environmental or situational interactions leave you feeling drained and lifeless, consider if the effort is worth the stress you are creating for yourself. Interactions should energize you. People with positive energy share it, and you can feel an uplift within their presence.

 

Will this choice advance my purpose? Most of you know I follow my calling. Hopefully you do too, but if you aren’t doing what you love and where God intends you to be, you need to meditate regarding the most important steps to real purpose in your life. Then, with God’s guidance, follow your heart.

 

Hopefully if we all abide by this advice, we each will keep our brains where they should be—in our heads where we can use them to help others.

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Bobbye Terry is an award-winning author in both fiction and nonfiction and has also won awards for her poetry.  She penned five published novels and numerous short-stories in collections with co-writer Linda Campbell under the pseudonym, Terry Campbell, and since then has written. a couple of dozen books solo as Bobbye Terry and Daryn Cross.

 

Her next inspirational book, In the Stillness, is the story of her journey and how to cope with tragedy