Life long effects of decision making

From infancy to teenage years or even at young adult stage, decisions are made for you by your parents or your guardians, then after we are responsible for our own decisions at young adulthood. One of the fundamentals of life teachings is to be taught the effects of decision making as a child. Most people are not taught of this, or it has not fully been elaborated for proper and deep comprehension.

As parents one of the tasks given to you is the gift of stewardship of children under your care. This comes with laying down foundations of teachings on life, principles and values that the child should encompass and carry throughout their life journey. The title of this blogpost as I stated above teaches on the “life long effects of decision making“ and is one that parents are not to omit in their training to their kids.

The Bible in the book of Provers 22:6 states, train up a child in the way that they should go, so that when they are old they do not depart from their training. Well let me bring this to your attention, like driving, you are taught what to do, what is the clutch, the break, exhilarator, how to observe, the basic rules of the road and utilization of the controls in the car, so that you are certified a trained driver after testing. Well after you have been driving for sometime, you do all that you were taught without thinking about it, that is called muscle memory, this is the same as the teachings we have heard all our lives, if you truly took hid of them, they take root in your memory and they never depart no matter how long you haven’t used or applied the teachings.

One of the things that parents take lightly is the area of “decision making” which start at a tender age not when you are at school; but however prior to that. One simple example will be the decision of picking your clothes as a toddler, it will drive your parents crazy cause as a toddler sense of weather and style is not in you yet or you have not grasp the concept yet; however you want to dress to what pleases your eyes or appeals to you. When a parent allow their toddler to pick-out their own clothes, deciding on what to wear for the day; they are actually teaching them how to make their decisions without looking for validation. Most people today seek so much validation that they can’t do anything without other people nodding or approving of what they are doing or producing, this has dampened on their ability to make critical decision and has fueled self doubt and to some it has lead them astray. (Still so much to unpack from this statement, but is a discussion for another day).

The decisions you make today are like seeds, you will only see their results later. You don’t plant a seed today and eat its fruit immediately, in-between the process of seed-time to harvest is a concept called time. An athlete trains for 4 years to just run one race that takes a few minutes or even seconds. The decision to train diligently, consistently and alter their lifestyle is what sets them apart from the rest. Everything you plant, you harvest. You plant laziness, you harvest stagnation and remaining in the same place as you had been all along. You plant action, consistency and discipline you harvest growth, success and progress.

This may sound elementary to someone but the truth of the matter is, life is based on principles, and that will not change or be altered. The rewards are enjoyed by those who planted, who decided and made choices. Even when you choose not to make a choice, you’ve made a choice. There is no thing called “I don’t have a choice”. The friends you keep, the crowed you hang-round with, the person you are dating/or married to, the work you are doing, the place you are staying at, the things you buy or eat, the places you are exposed too, the habits you are condoning, the way you lead your life are all choices/decisions and all of them have consequences’. Based on that decision their fruit will tell you what type of decision you made (the results never lie). What you need to ask yourself is am I willing to live with the results of my decisions? The result of unhappiness comes from not weighing the decisions prior to them being made.

The late Dr. Myles Monroe stated in one of his teachings “Never be in a hurry to make a decision, study the consequences first and if you can live with them, then you can make the decision. Not studying the consequences of a decision is irresponsible and carelessness”. How true is this statement, yet it is a principle that many never observe. Taking lightly a decision is a recipe for disaster. Researching the odds and allowing yourself time to be sober minded and knowing the impact of a decision you are making and realizing that it will not affect you only but those around you, the future generation which will be birthed through you and your then partner or the future partner. It is critical to truly ponder and take note of that! “Selah”.

Many live in regret, some in jealously, whilst others in bitterness due to decisions they took in their teenage years, or life in general. Some of these people are in denial and blaming everyone and everything on why their lives turned out the way it has without taking responsibility of their own decisions and accepting that they themselves were irresponsible and careless, naïve and ignorant to have not weighed the consequences of their decisions. This piece is not to condemn anyone, but to bring light, correction and clarity. Things can be turned around, it will take time and effort but the ship will eventually turn and you can set sail to a new destination; however note that it is require intentionality.

The sooner we learn the life long effects of decision making and fully comprehend it, the sooner we will live an authentic life, purposeful life, fuller-life, responsible- life which leaves a legacy to those who comes after us. This will be a life less of regret, envy/coveting, hatred and stagnation, hurt and distress. The one thing I want to leave you with is this “Check yourself”, take stock of where you are, because you are there based on the decisions you made in the past. I encourage you today, the next decisions you make, make them count. We are afforded the gift of choice every single day, what you will do, say, hear, see, eat, dress or go-to, the list goes on, but remember study the consequences of all your decisions so that you can live with the results in the days/years (future) to come.

Till the next piece, stay positive, remain determined and focused. You got this and I am routing for you!!!