Have you ever made a decision and thought, “This is the best decision I could have made,” only to regret that decision later?
I know I sure have. We all have if we are truthful with ourselves. It is human nature to allow our egos to kick in and metaphorically pat us on the back telling us we were right. Over the course of human history, we have been conditioned to think that an action or decision is what spurs us into motion. This motion is applauded as a good thing. After all, we are still celebrating great decisions from our past. But not all.
The crusades were forward motion kicking into gear the cruel treatment of Christians, Moors, and hundreds of thousands of innocent deaths.
Christopher Columbus’ landing in the Americas started with a decision and ended in genocide of the native American populous.
The creation of the Atom Bomb began with a decision. The father of the bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer ended up saying of his creation, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
So the truth of the matter is that anyone can make a decision at any time. We will never know the ramifications of a single decision until the dust settles on the other side. Often times it turns out those decisions weren’t productive to the best outcome.
That is where the importance of a pause comes into play. History never seems to remember that little anecdote, however. Afterall, where is the glamour and glory of imagining that George Washington paused to consider all lives involved before leading his fledgling nation against the mighty forces of the British Empire?
Where is the allure of picturing the heroic actions Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began by countless nights of weighing options before making a decision to lead an entire movement of equal rights?
Who wants to think about Kennedy sitting up late at night worrying if he were putting men’s lives in danger prior to reaching for the stars to put mankind on the moon?
But those pauses, those moments of consideration and reflection were vital to the decision-making process. I imagine ever option being weighed in those moments to consider the possible ramifications of the decision being made.
We as a people need to value the importance of the pause. Whether we are making a personal decision, a decision in our professional careers or a decision simply because we are leaders.
In our fast-paced society of cellular phones and instant gratification, we are losing the value of wisdom. After all, when we can do a quick internet search for answers on just about anything, we would we bother storing that information for ourselves in our brains? So what are we losing?
Wisdom. That wonderful thing that develops from glorious combination of experience and knowledge.
“…the wisdom to know the difference.”
We are at a pivotal moment of human existence where we are dangerously close to losing our collective wisdom to join a frenzy of illogical and emotion-based decisions.
On a world scale, a national scale, a state-level and yes, even our local governments, our leaders are faced with decisions. The winds of change are blowing, but I hope wise decisions can be made that lead our elected officials to endorsing plans that benefit the greater good instead of benefiting only an individual or a selected few.
All around us, we are seeing manipulative behaviors influencing events, people and actions to serve themselves.
Every week in Rotary Club, Dr. Andrew Dale reminds us of the club mission, “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Is it beneficial to all concerned?”
Apply these questions prior to any decision and instantly the decision making process will become more wise.
I believe not selective observation but careful examination of all concerned must be made in order to reach a place of wisdom.
May we all set the example of the pause before we grab the train headed for disaster.
