We are surrounded by choices daily, let’s make them deliberate decisions!
True, this might seem incredibly obvious to some, but we make a series of decisions all day long. Even if you decide to decide later, that is still a decision.
What if we were more intentional and deliberate with these everyday decisions? We could go so much further and bless others – deliberately!
Deliberate: thorough consideration
Do you know what type of life you want to have? What memories you want to cherish, what things you are working for?
I know I want to have an incredible relationship with God. I want to follow His lead and boldly pursue what He has for me. But this lifestyle doesn’t just happen, it is created by deliberate decisions.
In the morning when my alarm goes off, I thank Him for the day and then get moving. Not because I wake up and am alert and can’t wait to get started, but because I make the deliberate decision that I am grateful for the day and can’t wait to see what it brings!
Quiet Times
We all go through quiet times. Times when perhaps we don’t feel as close to God as we might like. He doesn’t seem to be showing up like we might expect and we feel a bit off.
When this happens we have a choice to make. We can either go with it and wait for this time to pass. Or we can seek Him more deliberately. Give Him our time and attention.
Seek Him and you will find Him. Every time. He never disappoints.
Large Projects
It seems like there are two types of people in the world: those who run towards mammoth size projects and those who avoid them like the plague. For some reason, I seem to gravitate towards large projects. They are enormous, but their conclusion is so satisfying! But in order to actually reach that conclusion, many, many deliberate decisions must be made.
We can’t just work on these projects when the inclination hits, we have to faithfully and consistently work at them every single day. The more faithful we are, the more progress we will see.
Faithful progress begins with the deliberate decision to commit to a project. Once you have made the decision, stick with it. Your mind will come up with a zillion excuses, and admittedly, some of them will be pretty good, but if you truly want to progress, you must disregard them.
Sometimes when my mind starts to communicate 47 reasons why my initial plan isn’t a good one, I just have to cut those thoughts short and say no, I’ve already decided. The decision has already been made.
Small Projects
I am never quite sure if small projects are easier or more difficult to commit to than larger projects. Large projects are more obvious to me – as in yes, it will be worth it in the long run or no it’s just not that important to me. But small projects seem to have a lot more wiggle room. They seem like a good idea, so if I have time left over I’ll squeeze them in later. But we all know there is rarely – if ever – “time left over”. And so the small project gets pushed off and disregarded, even though it would have been simple and easy to follow it through.
I find that I have to be just as deliberate with small projects as I do with large. Fully commit and then follow through. “That’s great it will barely take any time” – that means the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be finished. Make your decisions deliberately and you will see the fruit of your efforts!
Commitment
I was listening to a talk this morning and the man reminded me of something I know – probably most of us know – but need the constant reminder: just show up and do it. Make the commitment, make the decision, and then follow through. And the next thing he said was really interesting: the work will do itself.
I know just what he means! As the saying goes, “getting started is half the battle” – that is so true! Planning to do it is easy. But the follow through, actually showing up, faithfully focusing on this project, it all begins with the deliberate decision to do it.
We are each of surrounded by decisions all day long – should I workout, should I make a salad or eat out, should I get to bed or stay up late, etc. The exciting thing is that we are equipped for success if we choose to be successful.
Deliberate decisions give us the tools we need to make intentional choices. Decide ahead of time what your end goal is so that when opportunities come along, you know how to choose.
And remember, deciding to decide later is in itself a decision. Choose health, choose joy, choose integrity, choose kindness…
Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on (or deliberately choose) these things.
Remember every choice can become a deliberate decision!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Looking for more encouragement? Keep reading: https://www.theamericanlady.com/2017/06/21/just-do-it/