Hot and Cold

It’s that time of year when the temperature is hard to predict. Everything becomes very relative. After an unusually late but cold winter, it finally reached into the 50s a few weeks ago and you would've thought that summer was here. 50º felt so good as we traded in our boots for flip-flops. Yet after a burst in the 70s a few days later, the dip back to 50 degrees brought the sweaters back out. How can 50º feel so different just a few days apart?The same cycle will definitely repeat itself again in a few more weeks. As I was working outside today, 75º felt so hot. Yet when we hit 90° in the near future, 75º will seem like a cold front to a bunch of sweaty Memphians.It occurs to me that with all this fluctuation, the only thing that keeps us from both heating and cooling our home on the same day is the fact that the thermostat is set in advance. We pre-decided what’s too hot and what’s too cold. This protects us from allowing the relative cool or warmth from taking us too far off course and causing an astronomical utility bill!What if we applied this same sense of pre-decision to every area of our lives? We teach teenagers the importance of pre-decision when it comes to drinking and sex. If they haven’t already made a commitment to physical purity, their decision in the moment when temptation is present is probably going to be an emotional one that leads to much pain. The same is true if they’re with friends who are drinking. That’s not the time for them to decide what their boundaries need to be.What most of us don’t realize is that this concept of pre-decision can actually help those of us who have long since survived puberty, too. When we’re put on the spot, we often make a spontaneous decision without thinking through all the ramifications. An impulse decision is great on occasion, but wreaks havoc if it becomes the common practice. So many of the crises in our lives could be averted with some advanced thinking.Simple things… like thinking through the next few days and deciding what on your schedule is a necessity and what’s negotiable can keep you from feeling overwhelmed. What must be tended to and what do you hope to accomplish? Sometimes I act as if there’s no difference between the two. Financially, what have you predetermined you’re going to spend on eating out each month? This pre-decision keeps you from being shocked at the end of the month when you can’t seem to get all the bills paid. What do you need to pre-decide regarding your upcoming summer? In the moment, every opportunity sounds like a good one. But what will support your goals for the summer and what could distract or be too much?Occasionally, one of my kids will go and overrule the pre-programmed thermostat. In the same way, sometimes our pre-decisions have to be adjusted due to unexpected circumstances. Even at these times, though, the pre-decision process helps you to already know what you value so you can make a better adjustment when needed.What do you need to pause to think about so you don’t get caught off guard? twitter | facebook