OUR LIFE IS GENERALLY DEFINED based on the decisions we make. There are times when decisions are made for us but the majority of the time, decision-making is left to us.
We generally associate good decisions with joy and celebration, and bad decisions with sadness and tears, but my experiences have taught me that good decisions can also result in sadness and tears.
It is common custom to determine whether a decision was good or bad based on the outcome of our choices. Although this is true, man has the God-given ability to forecast through analysis and thought, the possible outcomes that may arise as a result of his choices even before making a decision. This ability also helps in determining if the decision being made is a good or bad one.
I want to encourage you today where possible, to count the cost before making decisions. Good decisions follow you for life but mistakes do as well. As children, we hardly counted the cost of our decisions before making them primarily because the consequences only affected us. As we matured, the consequences of our decisions increased and we would more frequently analyse situations before making decisions. I want to encourage you to make it a deliberate action, through thorough thought and analysis, to count the cost of decisions before making them.
For those who are married or parents or both, whatever decision you make must be informed or rooted in how it will benefit your spouse and children first, and then how it will benefit you. The society we live in places self before others, but I strongly believe once you are married or have children, your mindset and actions must shift to place them before you.
Over the past 16 years, if there is one thing God has taught me is how to break my own heart; it’s literally humbling yourself. There are so many things I wanted to do and be a part of, and many things I still love and want to do, and though they are positive things, having counted the cost and analysing how they benefit my wife and children first, I have had to leave them out. Yes, as good as they were, I walked away.
Some of you reading have very important decisions to make and are at crossroads in your life (career, finances, relationships, education, marriage, migrating, retirement, church, owning a home). Do not rush your decisions. Seek wise counsel, weigh the risk or sacrifice against the potential rewards or return, and discuss them with your spouse and children. Timing is also critical; there are things you need to do now and others that can wait. Because something is delayed doesn’t mean it is denied.
It’s easier to break your own heart now after counting the cost and cry alone, than to have it broken after realising you made a mistakeand cause pain for yourself and others. Don’t let pride make you a fool; don’t be afraid to say no; don’t be afraid to change direction or change your mind. This is your life, no one else’s, and God expects you to live it wisely and selflessly. If you can’t forecast how a decision will turn out, don’t let that deter you from making a decision.
Here is some encouragement: good judgement comes from experience, but experience comes from bad judgement. If your choices didn’t turn out as planned, you haven’t failed, you have just gained knowledge and experience.
On another topic: Brexit.
So here is one immediate benefit to Barbados and Caribbean students as a result of Brexit. University fees for those who are starting studies in the United Kingdom this August, September or October are at their lowest because of the exchange rate.
I would advise students who have their monies to go ahead and pay their tuition and accommodation fees since the fall in the pound sterling makes these expenses much cheaper than a week ago. In some of my calculations, savings are as much as BDS$5 000.
Hopefully, funding agencies like the Student Revolving Loan Fund and the Tertiary Division of the Ministry of Education, which are giving scholarships and grants to students going to the UK, are seizing this opportunity before the pound strengthens again.
• Corey Worrell, a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, is director of C2J Foundation Inc., a project-based NGO focusing on social development. Email: coreyworrell@gmail.com