Wednesday, Sep 1, 2010Decide! The Power To Create A Plan

In this story, you will discover what can happen when you finally decide and create a plan for your life.

I was sitting with a friend in the audience for a her child’s graduation, and I happened to notice a family sitting a few rows in front of me.

The father had arrived late, coming home from a business trip just in time to help celebrate his son’s grade school graduation.  He slid into the row containing his wife, baby girl, and younger son.  His son squealed with delight when he saw his father.  They hugged with enthusiasm and then, looking right into each other’s eyes, the father said to his son “I’m so glad to be back home with you, son.”  His son was a touch shy but I heard him say “I’m so glad you are home, daddy.”

He then waved to his graduating son up on the stage and blew him a kiss.  I saw him mouth the words “I love you, Robert” as he blew him a kiss.  I knew which one was his son, and I watched his face as he popped his eyelids up in recognition and blew a kiss back to his dad. I just knew how important it was for his dad to be there on this special day.

And then he took the baby from his wife’s arms and hugged her and rocked her back and forth saying “Daddy just loves his little girl so much!”  And then he traded places with his younger son so he would sit beside his wife.  He hugged her along with the baby and said “This is the best hug of all.  Hi honey.  I’m so glad to be back home with you.”

I was dramatically impacted by this wonderful display of love as was my friend.  I couldn’t believe it when she raised her voice to catch the father’s attention and said “Incredible!  How long have you two been married?”

He said “We were married fifteen years ago.”  Still amazed, she said “Boy, I hope my marriage is still that passionate after fifteen years.”

And he answered “Don’t wish.  Decide.”

Such a lovely story.  For me, being a Change Coach, I was struck by the power of that simple word – decide. What does it mean for you? Let’s see if Webster’s 1828 edition can help us out here.

DECIDE, v.i. To determine; to form a definite opinion; to come to a conclusion.

Coming to a conclusion is the tale end of a three-part process that begins with a desire that you have.

• What desires do you have for a successful relationship?
• Have you actually taken the time to think about it and create a plan for yourself?
• What would it look like?
• Who would be in it?
• What kind of character would that other have?
• How will you handle problems when they arise?

I would like to think you could add more questions to that list until you can fully create a plan for your relationship that would be like the man in the story above.  You certainly deserve it. Decide to do it.