Ch 3 of 5: Four Doors Of Decisiveness

I AM your constant companion.

I AM your greatest helper or heaviest burden.

I WILL push you forward or drag you to failure.

I AM completely at your command.

Half the things you do, you might as well turn over to me, and I will be able to do them quickly, & correctly.

I AM easily managed but -- you must be firm with me.

Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.

I AM the servant and destruction of all GREAT men.

Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I AM NOT a machine however, I function with all the precisions of one -- coupled with the intellect of a human being.

You may run me for a profit or turn me for ruin - it makes no difference to me.

Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.

Be easy with me and I WILL DESTROY YOU!

My name, is Habit.

...

Hey, it’s ME.

This is a proverb if you will, by an anonymous author.

Today I want to talk to you about habit.

Particularly one nasty habit, your enemy, indecisiveness.

Napoleon Hill once said in his book, Think and Grow Rich, “Quitting is a habit.”

Today I’m gonna add indecisiveness to this list.

Yesterday your conscience told you a story about a defenseless elephant who lost the will to escape from his personal hell.

Today I’m gonna tell you another story and I want you to replace the image of the baby elephant with a beautiful 3 year old little boy with BIG brown curls.

Can you see him?

GREAT!

I can too, because he’s playing with his monster trucks right in front of me as I write this.

This little guy LOVES his trucks, rocks, sharks, and monster trucks.

He's, a boy.

He also loves to play, jump, and drop himself from the top of the couch and land face first while yelling…

“… I’M OTAAY!”

He loves it.

Thinks it’s hilarious.

While you cringe at watching him drop like a rock, it also makes you chuckle a little.

From the day he gained the freedom to move, run, and play... mom and dad hammered into his curly little head

... SIT STILL!
... DON’T MOVE!
... BE QUIET!
... We’ll play later.
... We’ll do “x, y, or z” tomorrow.

Only he continues to resist.

Why?

He must run, he must play, he must be a boy.

Because he innately knows HE MUST MOVE.

God designed him this way, in his own image.

He MUST run like the wind.

He MUST explore.

But like the elephant, in time, he stops, he falls in line.

He sits still.
Doesn’t move.
Becomes obedient.

Why?

Based on his past experience… he tells himself, “no matter what I do, I'll be in trouble, and maybe get yelled at.”

He starts to believe he’s not good enough.

His decisions are wrong.

He can’t trust himself to make the right decision.

And any decision he does make... is wrong.

He ends up struggling internally his whole adult life -- to make future [quick] decisions.

Sounds like a tough childhood, huh?

(It's not that bad, this kid has it made but, this happens everyday around the world)

This type of conditioning is needed at times, for the little guy to grow into the man he is to become.

However, this conditioning must be backed up with reasoning.

Only then will the child tell himself the right story to cement the right belief system.

Why am I telling you this?

From the day YOU were born, your parents, teachers, and family members cinched around your neck a shackle and staked it to the ground.

This shackle is ME, your indecisiveness.

Every friggin’ day I’ve been hammered into your subconscience and I rain down destruction on your progress.

I’m why:

• Your back, shoulder, and knees ache.
• Those favorite jeans of yours no longer fit 
  and collect dust in the back of your closet.
• You passed on several business opportunities.
• You struggle to balance exercise, your career, and making time for your family.

Because of your past experiences, you fear making quick decisions to move you forward.

Because with decisions, comes consequences.

However, the consequences of indecision (which I’ve mentioned above) are far worse.

So how do you make the right decision and how do you know it’s the right decision?

I’m glad you asked!

I’m gonna show you how to sever ME from your life -- once -- and for all.

It's something based on the teachings of Fr. Mike Schmitz.

Now, I’m gonna to talk about the forbidden 3 letter word for a little bit, G-O-D!

So don’t freakout, ok?

When it comes to making quick, tough, and challenging decisions we say, “well, I’m gonna pray about it and see where God leads me.”

This is not wrong.

It’s good.

Because what you’re saying is, not “my will”, but Lord, let “your will” be done.

(It’s why we say ‘thy will be done’ in the Our Father prayer and it’s the core to being a Saint)

What you’re saying is, “God, I leave it in your hands, just tell me what to do”.

But, can you see the problem with this?

When it comes to figuring out God’s will in our lives -- what we’re really seeking is, the relief from the responsibility of making a quick, tough, and challenging decision.

(another one is, "let me talk to my spouse and see what he/she says")

In reality, God is counting on YOU to make the decision yourself.

After all, He gave you free will!

Unless he comes out (like He’s done before) and says “~Contact.FirstName~, you must do this”, and “you must not do that”, like He’s done with the 10 Commandments.

Then the rest is for YOU to choose.

God has given you an intellect and a will -- and he desires for you to apply them both to make a big decision.

So how do we do that?

I give you...

The 4 Doors of Decisiveness