Friday; October 18

I was recently faced with a challenging situation.  This was one of those issues where there was not a clear and correct answer.  Each option had positive and negative points.  In an effort to gain insight I was encouraged to go out and solicit the opinions of several people I trusted.  I am still not sure where I fall on the issue, but I did learn something about complicated decision-making:
1.  To gain the best advice, present all sides of the discussion.  During my quest, it was tempting to merely tell people of the positive points that supported my position at the time (which vacillated from time to time).  I came to realize that if I wanted the best advice, I’d better present things in the most unbiased way possible.
2.  Emotions don’t add to clarity.  I wish I could be free from emotional entanglement, but I understand that even Mr. Spock struggled with this this.  It became very apparent to me that emotions were steering me one way or another.  While I wasn’t able to become fully Vulcanized, I did become more aware of the emotions I was projecting and perceiving.
3.  There are times when there may not be a perfectly correct answer.  Wouldn’t it be nice if decisions were always reached by logically weighing the pros and cons?  It would be great if questions could be answered by an overwhelming collection of facts on one side or the other.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way (and when it doesn’t we must do our best with the information we have).
4.  When we value the opinion of others, we put ourselves in a position to make better, more informed decisions.  King Solomon observed, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17).  Doing things individually or surrounding ourselves with people who can be easily manipulated might be easier, but it doesn’t make us better.  When we are able to select good people and willing to listen to sound advice, we are apt to make the best decision possible. 
          Think About It!

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