So far in this week’s blog series we have looked at 3 secrets for making wise decisions:
- Get God’s Perspective
- Decide To Obey
- Determine Obstacles And Problems
Making wise decisions is so important on your Life Palette because “we win or lose by the way we choose.” So today I am giving you the 4th secret for making wise decisions:
4. Formulate A Plan
God is a planner and He has a plan for your life. (He has planned you as His masterpiece, Eph 2:10) When we take our cue from Him, we will discover that formulating a plan will save a lot of time in the long run, give us the greatest freedom, and pave the way for greater success. “An intelligent person aims at wise actions, but a fool starts off in many directions.” Pr. 17:24 (GN) Know anyone like that?
Plan Or Pay The Price
Kathy, my wife, and I are both go with the flow people. So for us, the ideal vacation is to just take off without a plan and see where the road leads. However we discovered early on in our marriage that this was not the best way to vacation.
We had our first two kids, Karli and Kadi, both were very young and we set off for a camping trip on the Oregon coast. We had decided that we would pitch out tent when we were tired of traveling and found a perfect spot. What we didn’t know was that all the camp sites in Oregon had been reserved.
No problem for a couple of adventurers! We stopped along the beach and pitched our tent – in the dark – so we were not sure about whether the tide was coming in or going out. With a couple of young children at our side, neither of us slept as we listened to see if the crashing waves were getting closer to our tent throughout the night.
Just before sunrise we were awakened by a ranger telling us that it was illegal to camp on the beach in Oregon and that we needed to move our tent immediately. Lesson learned! While we are still very adventurous and flexible, we at least formulate enough of a plan for vacation that we have reservations for our family to rest at night.
Here are a few keys for formulating a great plan:
1. Chose Carefully
Selection is the name of the game when you formulate a great plan. The truth is you don’t have time for everything. A great plan will assure you do the right things, the important things.
2. Talk With Others
Spend some time talking with others who have made similar decisions. Ask them for advice.
“Henry Ford was asked “What’s the secret of success?” He said , wise decisions.” “how do you make wise decisions?” Experience!” how do you get experience?” “From making stupid decisions!”
While Henry Ford was right, he left out the important fact that you can learn wisdom from others who have gone before you and make much wiser decisions with that wisdom. Life is too short to learn everything by trial and error.
Remember, when you are getting counsel from others make sure it is good counsel, after all “it’s hard to soar with eagles if you are listening to turkeys!
“Don’t go charging into a battle without a plan.” Pr. 20:18 (GN)
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Prov 21:5 (NIV)
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