Making Great Decisions: Navigating life's crossroads

By Dodzweit Achero

So have you made some bad choices along the way; choices that have brought pain, confusion and failure in your life? Do not give up yet, you are not without hope. There are many like you who have made some wrong choices in the past but have bounced back to become success stories. We all have the opportunity to bounce back from the bad decisions that we have made in life. We can learn from our wrong choices, get back on track and make better choices for our lives. In this book Making Great Decisions author Dodzweit Achero shares helpful insights that will help you make the right decisions when faced with enigmatic situations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781716865374

Book preview

Kenya

Acknowledgements

This book is a result of learning from many experiences and the valuable input I have received from several instructors. All of us are a sum total of the contribution people have made in our lives in various ways.

Here are a few who made this book possible.

To my wife Mary for your unwavering support and encouragement.

To my children who after asking me are you writing another book? let me work in peace.

To my bishops David and Ronicah for believing in me and inspiring me to do the work of the ministry. To the many mentors and instructors who have greatly shaped and nurtured me in life and ministry like Bishop Dag Heward Mills, Bishop TD Jakes and Dr Mensa Otabil.

To Raha for transcribing and compiling the work and Emmanuel for the cover design and layout.

To Bessy for editing, proof reading the manuscript and to ensure the book is published on schedule.

Dedication

To the One who made the ultimate decision to send His Son to die on the old rugged cross for the redemption of mankind. This decision has positively impacted many lives and destinies.

To the millions around the world oblivious of what to do; may the wisdom in this book help you make great decisions in life.

To my parents Patrick and Essery for the support you gave me when I chose to do the work of the ministry.

Finally, to the staff and the church workers at the City of Transformation for the decision you made, to not only join the church as a member but as a committed servant as well.

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why it seems so hard to make the right decisions in life? Many of us are afforded great potential, talents and opportunities to achieve great things in life. But somehow with all this before us we end up failing because of the wrong choices we make along the way. This problem is not just faced by a few or a certain caliber of people. It cuts across the board and touches every aspect of life. The reason why we face such dire consequences to our wrong choices is because decisions are the key to determining one’s quality of life and future.

So have you made some bad choices along the way; choices that have brought pain, confusion and failure in your life? Do not give up yet, you are not without hope. There are many like you who have made some wrong choices in the past but have bounced back to become success stories. We all have the opportunity to bounce back from the bad decisions that we have made in life. We can learn from our wrong choices, get back on track and make better choices for our lives.

I will share principles from God’s Holy book that I have carved for my own life and give you what you need to start making the right choices for your life. Some principles may be hard to implement but with determination you will realize it is worth the effort to try them out. You don’t have to live with regret for the rest of your life. You can muster courage, shrug off the past mistakes and begin to shape your future by righting the wrongs you have made in the past.

My hope is that I will reach out and help those of you who have made wrong decisions; those who are grappling with indecision and those weighed down by regret over past decisions. I will give you guidelines on what you need to do when you come to a crossroad and you are pressed to make a decision. I will give you the keys you can use to make sure that the choice you are making is the best choice in your given situation. To do this I will heavily depend on the Word of God which is the compass of life. Pastor Curry Blake says, God gives us the sheet music for our life, but we are the conductors of our life. God has given us the sheet music for our life in His Word but it is up to us to pick the music and begin to conduct our lives according to His template. I have found that there is no better guide to help us in making great decisions apart from God’s Word. God’s Word is full of timeless truths and principles that are vital for effective living.

As you delve into the pages of this book be prepared to see yourself begin to make fewer and fewer mistakes as you arm yourself with the vital information you need for making great decisions in life. I am confident you will find insight and wisdom in the pages ahead to aid you in your journey to a successful life built on the strength of great choices you will make.

Pastor Dodzweit Achero

Prologue

I come from a deeply religious family. My four brothers and I were taught on the importance of attending church and honoring God from a very early age. We were a closely knit family but the nature of my father’s job entailed periodic transfers from one city to another. This meant that for a season, we lived with our mom, and dad could visit as often as he was able to. Though this set-up was difficult for all of us we understood that our parents were just trying to make a better life for us. It was only when I was in my final year in high school that we were finally reunited in one city as a family.

In my final year in high school, a time came for us to select possible careers we wanted to pursue in our local universities. I remember that the whole process was confusing and stressful for me because as I looked over the career choices, there was none that resonated with me. Over the three years that I was in high school, no one had prepared me for this moment. I was clueless on what career choice to make but the selection of my possible careers had to be done anyway. I consulted one of my teachers for help and her advice was that we look at the subjects I have been performing well in and it would give me an idea of my strengths and what I was meant to pursue. As she looked over my previous record of grades with me, it only got more complicated because there was a stark difference between the ones I performed well in and the ones I did not and reconciling this stark difference made my situation direr. Finally we managed to come up with a selection but we did it purely as a formality.

I did not meet the threshold to join one of the local public universities and so I had to find a college that my grades would qualify me to attend. This proved difficult once again because I didn’t have the slightest inkling of what I wanted to do with my life. I was very confused and sought help from those around me but it did little to help. The more I talked to my friends about my dilemma in choosing a career, the more confused I became. I would venture on what they were pursuing but end up pulling out because I would realize it was not the course I wanted to pursue. I even applied to an institution in Uganda after a friend convinced me to do so, but when I got there I knew that I had made the wrong decision. That night I had insomnia because everything did not feel right for me. The following day I left early in the morning and came back to Kenya.

Amazingly my father was patient with me throughout this confusing time. He was very supportive and kept reminding me to let him know what I wanted to do and he would help me to get there. I am so glad that he did not put unnecessary pressure on me to choose what I want to be in life. During this period, I volunteered to serve in our local church in the music ministry. I also bought the books written on finding your purpose in life. Through this process of self-reflection, reading and exploring my strength, passion and inclination, I finally zeroed in on what I wanted to do with my life. I informed my father that I needed to join a bible school. At first, it did not feel like a profound decision. Very few people during that time considered going to a Bible college for training. Many pursued other professions but not one to be a clergy. I made this decision based on the conviction I had concerning my purpose and it has proved to be one of the best decisions I have made in life.

Decisions and Outcomes

Why do many people fail? Why do companies close? Why do churches close? Why do people end up destroying their lives? Why do countries suffer unrest, poverty, political upheaval and corruption? It is because of poor decisions that have been made along the way.

The one thing that everyone on the planet has in common is the undeniable fact that we all have made our fair share of regrettable decisions. Show me someone who has not made a bad decision and I’ll show you someone who is not honest. Everyone at some point in life has made a foolish decision either as a child, a young person or an adult. When you look at your past you will definitely see moments in your life that you took a wrong turn that had mild or dire consequences. Making sound decisions is a skill set that needs to be developed like any other skill in life. Nothing will test your mettle more than your ability to make good decisions.

Fundamentals

You cannot separate the success in your career, ministry, business or company from the ability of making the right decisions; they are intricately linked. The outcome of the life of an individual is based on the decisions he/she makes. These decisions will either make them or break them. It can take years of making great decisions to push you up but sadly, it only takes one bad decision to cause you to fall from your ivory tower. This is because you are as good as your last decision.

Looking back at that time of my life, I believe that I learnt these few fundamentals:

Know who you are and what you value:

Decision making is a very personal business; it is about assessing what is valuable to you. Value is in the eye of the decision maker. What you deem valuable will determine the choices that you make. If you value who you are, you carefully weigh your options before you make decisions in life. When making decisions, it is important to factor other people’s opinions, but bear in mind that what some people value might not necessarily be what you value. Blindly following these people’s advice may lead to disastrous decisions. Consider people’s advice but filter them through godly values entrenched in your life.

You cannot be everything to everyone:

Trying to be everything to everyone is hard work; you will expend and deplete your strength trying to be like everyone around you. You can learn from others but you can’t be who they are. Don’t try to be like anyone else because you will not be able to sustain that pursuit for long. Live as an original lest you die as a cheap photocopy of everyone around you. Their conquest should be a catalyst