MyGSXF
2nd October 2007, 14:39
WHEN THE TIME COMES, TAKE ACTION!!
We have all been brought up to be very careful about making decisions. Before making an important decision, we are told to list all the alternatives, to weigh the relative merits of each, to consider what might go wrong, & finally, to put all these factors together and to make the final decision. This is all very fine and very rational.
However, something very undesirable often comes with this kind of extended decision-making process, namely anxiety! Worry shows on our faces. As I look around at my students every day, I can see faces etched with worry, about jobs, finances, living arrangements or family life. Of course, life is not always simple, and there are choices to be made from a number of alternatives.
Sometimes, however, we can be paralysed by the process of making a decision. We keep running the process through our minds: we doubt our first instincts, and we are confused by the advice of others. The more we think, the more we worry, and the more we worry, the more afraid we become to make a definite decision. With anxiety comes fear, and with fear comes paralysis. So, we may wind up doing nothing and allowing our moment of opportunity to slip away.
By all means, think about what should be done in a particular situation. But once you have done this, go ahead and do what you have decided. Life almost never turns out exactly as planned. There is a saying: "The only thing that's for sure is that nothing's for sure". So, once you have acted on your decision, you'll probably find that things didn't work exactly as you had anticipated. What you will also find, in most cases, is that things were not as difficult as you had imagined them to be and there were more possibilities than you had envisioned.
There comes a time for action: when the time comes, do it!!
You may make a miscalculation, a misjudgement or even a major blunder. So what? You will have learned and you will have gathered more knowledge and experience, which will enable you to go further, perhaps to immediately improve the situation. If you stand on the side thinking about it, you will never know! Problems, challenges and difficulties are opportunities in disguise. They are opportunities to grow and to develop ourselves. We should take them wherever and whenever we can!! :banana:
From "One day One Lifetime" by Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura
We have all been brought up to be very careful about making decisions. Before making an important decision, we are told to list all the alternatives, to weigh the relative merits of each, to consider what might go wrong, & finally, to put all these factors together and to make the final decision. This is all very fine and very rational.
However, something very undesirable often comes with this kind of extended decision-making process, namely anxiety! Worry shows on our faces. As I look around at my students every day, I can see faces etched with worry, about jobs, finances, living arrangements or family life. Of course, life is not always simple, and there are choices to be made from a number of alternatives.
Sometimes, however, we can be paralysed by the process of making a decision. We keep running the process through our minds: we doubt our first instincts, and we are confused by the advice of others. The more we think, the more we worry, and the more we worry, the more afraid we become to make a definite decision. With anxiety comes fear, and with fear comes paralysis. So, we may wind up doing nothing and allowing our moment of opportunity to slip away.
By all means, think about what should be done in a particular situation. But once you have done this, go ahead and do what you have decided. Life almost never turns out exactly as planned. There is a saying: "The only thing that's for sure is that nothing's for sure". So, once you have acted on your decision, you'll probably find that things didn't work exactly as you had anticipated. What you will also find, in most cases, is that things were not as difficult as you had imagined them to be and there were more possibilities than you had envisioned.
There comes a time for action: when the time comes, do it!!
You may make a miscalculation, a misjudgement or even a major blunder. So what? You will have learned and you will have gathered more knowledge and experience, which will enable you to go further, perhaps to immediately improve the situation. If you stand on the side thinking about it, you will never know! Problems, challenges and difficulties are opportunities in disguise. They are opportunities to grow and to develop ourselves. We should take them wherever and whenever we can!! :banana:
From "One day One Lifetime" by Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura