Looking back, we can see the many ways COVID-19 affected our lives. From where and what we ate to who we ate with and how we ate while wearing a mask, the pandemic caused us to make decisions that put us in the uncomfortable environment known as change.
When I go back to see the teams from University of Georgia or Georgia Southern University play football this fall, I will run across people I went to class with in the early 1980s. I recognize them and can’t believe they look so old. (I’m glad this is not occurring when I look in the mirror!) I see the physical changes,but I also notice the changes in their outlook on life and thedifferent roads we all have traveled up to this point.
Back in the day, it seemed that my friends and I could drink more beer in one night than could be produced in the Colorado Rockies. Now, we are parents with children and real jobs.
One guy I knew as the party animal is currently a pastor. Another, a rock-solid guy in our 20s, is in a pit of despair in his 60s. I heard the story about what happened — it started with a bad choice that he thought he could handle, no one would ever find out about and really didn’t hurt anyone.
What would be your choice if you could tell a small lie to your boss and get the promotion you feel you’re entitled to? Or if you could get $1 million in cash by just changing a few numbers for a friend’s bid for a multimillion-dollar deal he was going to land? Or have you ever participated in a text that started a little fire between you and a close friend?
Our choices have consequences. I have made some costly decisions, in business and my personal life, that were mistakes. I have been the one to make them and own up to them, whatever blowback resulted from those mistakes.
At age 62, I use two guides to help me make long-term life decisions. The first I learned about in Proverbs 22:1 — that your name and reputation are more important and longer lasting than gold and silver. The second relates to my wife and two girls, Abbie and Annie. I ask myself this: If they were to be part of the decision, would they cheer us all on?
Now that our world has changed and we have a new normal, are you going to pause and think about where that “one” seemingly small decision could lead you and your family? Will it take all of you right over a cliff? If that’s a possibility, even remotely, pause and consider my two guides. Choose decisions for the better.
Live inspired,
Jimmy
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