Good Morning! Today we are going to dive right into that dreaded question: How do we make great decisions? Using Fr. Mike Schmitz book we’ll begin looking at how to answer that question. As a little bit of a disclaimer: If you click on any of the links to buy the book, I will get a small commission from amazon at no extra cost to you! But first:
A Quick Catch Up:
Before we dive into how to make great decisions, I’ll give you a little life update. It has been absolutely forever (again) since I’ve written anything for this. In the meantime, I’ve done a lot of adjusting to life back at home. I’ve developed a consistent morning and evening routine, re-established my daily duties, planned some art pieces, and started reading again! It hasn’t been easy, but after rediscovering the book “How to Make Great Decisions” by Father Mike Schmitz I was able to gain so much motivation and clarity. Being somewhat back on my feet I’ll be posting pretty consistently starting with today’s post: a glance at the book “How to Make Great Decisions”.
Discovering the Book:
I stumbled across this book about a year ago on instagram. The title itself was appealing (plus it was written by Fr. Mike Schmitz). Naturally, I bought the book on impulse and it’s a good thing I did. Less than a month later I was voluntold to do a talk on discernment for my youth group. Now keep in mind I was at a point in life where everyone was asking me if I had decided what my future would look like yet (I hadn’t) and I hate making decisions. Still, the book sat on my shelf until the night before the talk (yay! procrastination). Thinking I didn’t have time, I tried-and failed-to write the talk without the book. Once I finally picked it up though it only took about an hour and a half to read so I was prepped and ready for the talk by 1:30am-giving me a full five hours to sleep on it.
Now I can’t say I recommend the early hours of the AM as the prime time to read this book but hey, whatever works. Just get yourself a copy (amazon affiliate link- I’ll get a much appreciated small commission) and READ IT I promise you, it will show up to serve you time and time again.
What I Learned About Decision Making:
After giving the talk to my youth group, I decided I should take my own advice and apply what I learned. Father Mike breaks decision making down into four simple steps:
- Trust God
- Examine Yourself
- Examine Your Choices
- Take Action
The first step is the most important: we have to trust that God knows us and loves us and that He truly does have a plan and will for us.
Examine Yourself:
The second step is probably the most difficult. Not only does it call us to look at ourselves but to be honest with where we are spiritually. It involves three questions:
- Are You in a State of Grace?– In other words, have your actions been moral ones or are you aware of mortal sin within your life? If your answer is the latter, you are called to start by going to confession.
- Have You Prayed Today?– To be in open communication with God on a daily basis is absolutely vital to discernment. If you haven’t prayed yet, change that.
- Are You Doing Your Daily Duties?– This is all about embracing where you are right now. Every day we have a list of “To-Do”s and this question not only asks us if we are doing them, but if we are doing them joyfully for God. This is not always an easy one, but with practice it can be mastered and you will find yourself happier than ever doing the things that once seemed to drag you through the day.
Examine Your Choices:
The third step is more about logical thinking and also involves a set of questions. This time, the questions are about the nature of the choice that is in front of you:
- Is this option a good option?– In other words, if it is not inherently bad or evil you can move on to the next question but if it is bad or evil then you can stop right here.
- Is this option truly open/available to me?– Sometimes outside factors make it impossible to actually pursue whatever decision it is you came to. If that’s the case well then, it’s no longer an option. But if nothing is preventing you from pursuing this decision, then it’s time for question three
- Is this a wise option?– To answer this you will have to consider all of the things that you know about you, your past, your situation, and what you want for your future. In this step you may need to seek out additional information whether it be from friends, family, mentors, a book, the internet, or even further experience of your own. If you come to the conclusion that it is in fact a wise option then you can ask yourself this final question:
- Do I want to choose this option?– If you’ve gotten this far, that means whatever option is in front of you in accordance with God’s will, now it’s up to you if you want to follow it!
Take Action:
The fourth and final step is pretty self explanatory but just as important as the first three. Once we know we have a good decision in front of us it’s time to take that step forward and actually do what we’ve decided. This is how we move forward in our journey and work towards God’s destiny for us 🙂
Now of course Fr. Mike explains all of this and more in an entertaining and comprehensive way. He provides relatable examples, insightful stories, and endless bits of encouragement throughout the book. If you don’t already have it, I highly recommend getting yourself a copy! I’d love to hear your thoughts on it when you do so feel free to visit the Connect Page or my Instagram ! Until then, keep growing and remember to smile 🙂
-me
[elijah jane]
