the other voices

Every day we are inundated with voices. A boss, a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, a business partner, our board of directors, and the list goes on and on.

In the last 24 hours, I've had two friends tell me the exact same thing...

"I'm getting told so many different things. I don't know which way is right."

Sound familiar? You've been there too. And so have I. Some of those voices genuinely care, others have their own agenda...the question is...

How do I know which is the right voice to follow?

When all the different voices become too much...here are five questions to ask yourself to find and listen to the right one.

#1 - Do they have a motive?

This question alone can typically weed out the bad ones. Some of the voices in our lives don't always have our best interest in mind, they have theirs. Who are they? Why are they telling you what they are telling you? You aren't dumb. You can sift through the bull when it's present. This question will get you there quickly.

#2 - What does my significant other think?

My wife has my back, always! So I always ask for her opinion and if she has a check in her spirit. I don't always listen, but I always know she is doing her best to protect me and my best interest at heart. If you don't feel like you can ask your significant other, that means we need to have another conversation that is outside of this blog. :)

#3 - What does my gut say?

For many, our intuition is a good thing. If someone had a "metaphorical gun" pointed to your head and you had to make a decision, what would you do? This thought process can typically lead to the right decision. You were just choosing to be indecisive. 

#4 - Am I avoiding a hard conversation?

We all do this...when multiple opinions are involved, if we aren't careful, we'll create a hierarchy of who's feelings will get hurt the most down to the least. And then we'll choose the option of the person who would have blown up if we did something else. 

Stop making decisions to help you avoid hard conversations. You are held accountable for the decisions you make, not the feelings you avoided hurting.

#5 - What does God's word say?

This question will differ based on how you believe. If you believe in the Bible, every decision you make should be measured by that first and foremost. If you believe differently, measure the decision to the code you choose to live by.

When I was a pastor, I can't tell you how many times I counseled someone who would say, "God is telling me...". And what they said next was against what the Bible said...I would have to stop them and go, dude, no, God is not telling you that. That would make him a liar. 

If one of the voices is encouraging you to lie, cheat, steal, kill, backstab, etc., go ahead and give yourself permission to say heck no and move on down the road.

Being a good decision maker will make or break our lives and our business. So this is something that we must get control of. It's also why it's so important to surround ourselves with the right voices. 

I would rather make a less right decision because I have three good decisions, than a bad decision because I had a good and a bad and I chose poorly.

If this blog made an impact for you, please like, comment or share. Thanks! :)