You Make the Call

    Have you ever made a decision in your life where everything didn't happen smoothly? I bet we could all answer that question with a resounding, "YES"!  All of our decisions whether they worked out or not are our own. We should take responsibility for them. We learn from what may have gone awry (hopefully) and look to use those experiences for our good next time.

  The older I get the more I see people concerning themselves more with what others are doing and less about their own lives. The other day I posted on Facebook that if we spent more time in self-reflection rather than the scrutinization of others the world would be better for it. I can't help but wonder what could be.

  There will be people who will not agree with what you decide. That is inevitable and okay. However, we as decision makers each need to live our lives not as people pleasers. Sure, it's good to bounce things off of others especially the big decisions you might make. It's good to take time and think things through. If you are a person of faith you may pray about it. You may ask others to pray. These are all great steps and I'm sure there are others. In the end though you have to make the call. You stand by your decision and support it. Bottom line: The buck stops with you and no one else.

  Going back to my Facebook post I believe we could all improve upon how we process other people's decisions. Yours truly included. I think of all of the things wrong in our world and then I see us fixated on what other people have decided more than we should. What a waste of time this is! There are many things we all could be doing with our time--items which are more productive for life, love and freedom. Time is precious. Let's all take a different approach. You'll be respected if you do.

  People are hungry, thirsty, over-burdened, over-worked, over-taxed, sick, exhausted, addicted and on and on. We should be more prudent about applying our time towards the above or trying to make a difference in our local, national and even world communities. Yapping about what so and so did and how he/she/they didn't do what you thought he/she/they should do is wrong. Even more wrong are the subsequent gossipy conversations. All of it is wasteful, tragic and it eats away at our hearts.

  All of us will make decisions that don't work out. It's life folks. Let people be. Hopefully they'll learn something. And if people don't make the decision you think they should pick up the phone and talk to them. Ask to meet with them. See what's going on in their life or lives. Take more of an interest and I guarantee people will respond positively to your inquiry. If people don't ask you your opinion then be okay with that too. No need to be offended. It's all good.

  Personal responsibility is at an all-time low. We live in a country where more people rely on government assistance than ever before. It's killing us. So, when people go through a process and make a decision we need to respect it. They've taken personal responsibility. Applaud that even if you disagree with their decision. Your words are empty if they are not spoken within some level of a relationship. We should speak truth to one another with the right attitude. If not then we are just spewing nonsense. Be about your own dash and let others mind theirs. You make the call.