If In Doubt...Don't!

My grand daughter Nicole ( a few years ago) and our grand-dog Oscar.  He might be little but his teeth are sharp and since there was doubt about giving him a treat  he seems so anxious for... Nicole decides it's a 'Don't".  Not even eye contact!

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Many times in life as I face different things that require a decision and I can't decide on the spot, I remember this saying of Dad's.  It really just means, "Wait!"  or "Get some more information so you can make a good decision with confidence."  

I have another saying on the heels of this one if someone is pressuring me to make a decision and I"m not ready.  I just declare, "I'm deciding not to decide right now!"  Some people get upset at this answer when they are in more anxiety about something than you are!  But at least they have an answer... for the time being.   And it also means, "Wait!" 

Doubt is a funny thing because it means we don't have clarity or confirmation or consistency. For me in this situation I often try to determine if there is anything, no matter how small, that I CAN make a decision on, at the moment, besides deciding not to decide!  Sometimes it means that I at least know where to take the next baby step or little bite out of the elephant.

If someone is pressuring me, I try to at least give some sense of WHEN I will decide, or WHAT information I need to remove the doubt!  In circles of faith, believing what we can't see, we still need something to stand on to remove the doubt.  A promise.  A testimony from someone who has gone through the same thing, or in some cases a Plan B, or way out if the decision isn't the right one. 

Giving myself permission to deal with the doubt before making a critical decision is the best way I know and to have my Dad's words echoing in my ear and to remember all the times he moved forward in faith, is to know that doubt can dealt with so the "Don't" becomes the "Do!"