DECIDE

To make up ones mind means to DECIDE but the process is not as simple as is sounds because one need to Develop Extra Clear Insight to Discern Emphatically. To get an idea of the problems one faces in taking a decision, recollect the story of the man who was asked to sort out potatoes. This is an apocryphal story about a man who was searching for a job and who managed to get a job of chopping wood, which he did with great alacrity and impressed his farmer boss. He was then asked to sort out the potatoes into 3 piles small, medium and big. At the end of the day, the boss was stunned to see the man barely having a few potatoes in each pile. On inquiry the helper confessed that he was having a very tough time deciding in which pile each potato should go. Clarity in decision making is tough especially when the facts are subject to varied interpretations.

If there are law suits that are growing in geometric proportions worldwide, a large part of the problem lies in the reality that deciding who is right and who is wrong or deciding on an equitable solution is extremely tough. In fact world over more and more people are tempted to believe in using the legal system to address their domestic issues which in normal course could be amicably settled. This trend of increased litigation is partly due to the complex nature of the decision making process for each party to a dispute believes that he/ she is right and decisions of mediators are rarely accepted for fear of bias. This throws up another angle about the decision making process; it must never be influenced by personal preferences or bias or the end results could be disastrous. 

The ability to discern becomes another critical skill for anyone who needs to exercise judgment and decide. Experience is often a reasonable ally of anyone having to make a decision. However our past experience must not close our minds to the possibilities of other alternatives. As Mark Twain puts it ‘One must not be like a cat who once having sat on a hot stove refuses to sit on a cold stove’. Equally important is firm faith in our chosen decision. Many a time we attempt to change boats midstream and in the process end up falling overboard and drowning. The classic story of Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez who when he landed in Mexico on the shores of the Yucatan by ship ordered his men to burn the ships so that there was no turning back on the decision made to conquer or perish.

Finally it must be borne in mind that not all decisions we take bear fruit. Sometimes we go wrong in executing the decisions, other times the decision is right but the anticipated outcome is not got. Timing is just as critical for the decision to bear fruit. What is important however is that we develop the habit of taking decisions for only then can truly Develop Extra Clear Insight to Discern Emphatically.

Action Points

1. Read up on one of the great decisions taken by King Solomon http://www.kingsolomonlegend.com/the-judgment-of-solomon.html 
2. List out all the things that you need to do during the day. Now prioritize it and begin executing. Do you need to reprioritize the list more than once? Were you forced to reprioritize because you missed out on some crucial assumptions or you made the wrong assumptions to begin with?
3. Here are the answers to the scrambled words challenge posted on 13 July 2010 in our blog http://actspot.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/expect-nothing/ 1. ALONE 2. HAVOC 3. GRAZE 4. NASAL 5. STAMP ( Did you underestimate the time because you were overconfident or were you undermine your abilities and overestimated the time)

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