Better Decisions; Day 3

based on the book Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets by Andy Standly

Sometimes . . . in fact, more times than we would like to admit, an option we’re considering creates a little tension inside of us. Something about it is just a bit uncomfortable. Something about it doesn’t seem exactly right. It gives us pause. It bothers us. It causes us to hesitate. And, oftentimes, we have no idea why.

Experts sometimes refer to this phenomenon as a red flag moment, an internal sense of “I’m not sure why, but something about this doesn’t feel right.” When that happens, you owe it to yourself to pause and pay attention to the tension.

Don’t ignore it.

Don’t brush it off.

Pause and ask yourself, “What about this bothers me?”

That internal hesitation, that red flag, is often God’s way of turning us in another direction. People yielded to God don’t attempt to play God. They don’t predict outcomes. Instead, they surrender. They obey. They follow. As much as they want anything, they want to be able to lie in bed at night knowing that things are good between them and their heavenly Father. And rightly so. As my dad is fond of saying: “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.”

So pay attention to the tension. If you don’t, you may wake up on the other side of a decision you wish you could go back and unmake.

If there’s something in you, something you can’t put your finger on, or perhaps something someone else has put a finger on that bothers you about an option you’re considering, pause and pay attention. That tension may very well be God’s way of protecting you. It may be his way of waving you off from a decision you’ll later regret. Every time you make a decision, especially a decision that takes you by surprise, ask yourself, “Is there a tension that deserves my attention?” Don’t ignore it. Don’t brush by it. Let it bother you until you know why it bothers you.