3/16/2021
How do you decide what to do? We know that we are constantly making decisions. Most of these decisions we do not think about. Unfortunately, I think the pattern of thinking that we apply to the little decision in our life carries over into the big decisions that we make every day. I would like to recommend a book that has made me think about my decision-making biases.
The book is Rethink Your Self by Trevin Wax. Trevin argues that we set our direction in life by looking in one of three places: in, around, or up. When I am looking in for direction, I have decided that I am the best judge of what is best for me. When I am looking around for direction, I have decided that other people are the best judge of what is best for me. When I am looking up for direction, I have decided that God is the best judge of what is best for me.
Trevin points out that most people use all three of these approaches to making decisions. What impacts our direction is the order in which we place them. Our culture encourages us to look in, then look around, and if needed look up. The Bible instructs us to take the opposite approach. We are to look up first, then look around, and finally look in.
There are other orders for applying these three perspectives to our decision making. My default is to look around, then look in, and finally to look up. When I am looking around, I am attempting to determine how my decision will impact others impression of me. This is where looking up first changes everything. When I look to God first, I discover that I am loved and created for a purpose. I can trust the Holy Spirit to guide me in a direction that will honor God and bless others. This radically changes how I look around. Instead of looking to determine what other people think I will now be looking to see what other people need. With these two perspectives in mind, I can finally look in and see how God has designed me to address the need in a way that is consistent with God’s love.
I hope what I have written will pique your curiosity and that you will get the book and read it. When I began reading it, I thought it was a book that was written for others, millennials to be specific. When I finished, I knew it was a book that I needed. To get a better idea of what the book is all about without buying the book check out this podcast:
Listening In Podcast with Trevin Wax
