Friday, August 5, 2016

Axiom 86: Don't Take Big Commitments Lightly




"Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.-Robert H. Schuller

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.-Theodore Roosevelt


The biggest mistake that young people make is taking life's big decisions too lightly. Buying a house, getting married, choosing a college, having children, moving to a new city, and quitting a job are just a few of the really huge choices that we sometimes make on emotion only. There needs to be a little logical analysis that goes into making these big choices. Making a choice only because it feels good can come back to haunt you later.

Before you make a decision think about the best and worst case possible outcomes. Don't ignorantly put on those rose colored glasses only to regret a bad decision later. I know we often want something so much that we ignore the bad and only pay attention to the good. You must resist the urge to jump into a bad decision before weighing all the options.


This axiom reminds me of I when I went to shop for engagement rings. I went into a jewelry store to casually look and soon found myself cornered by two high-pressure salespeople holding a ring I asked to look at. 


"If you walk out of here and don't buy this ring you will be making a stupid decision. This is the best possible deal you can get," the clerk said.


It was this statement that made me realize I had to get the hell out of there. Any purchase I was going to make that big was not going to be made without looking at all the options and this was the very first place I had visited.


"You may be right. I may walk out of here and regret this. But I did not come here today to buy a ring yet. I came here to look. I want to consider all of my options before I make a decision. If I decide that this ring is the one then I will come back and buy it. If by that time it was sold to someone else so be it. That is a risk i am willing to take over making an impromtu purchase," I told the clerk before I walked out.


Needless to say that after looking at all my options that ring would have been an awful purchase. I found a much better ring that I bought and have had no regrets.


Think before you act.