The Wise Know Their Whys

As my children grow older, they (and I) are learning that I don’t like to be forced into making an unnecessarily rushed decision.  Sometimes we’re forced by circumstances to make important decisions.  I get that, I accept it.  But if they want something, like ice cream, or staying up late to watch something, and I haven’t had a chance to discuss it with my wife, their mother, or at least to stop a few beats to think about it, I’m likely to just say No.

I came up with a phrase to help explain the way I prefer to handle decisions.  I want to make wise decisions, and the wise know their whys.  I don’t want to just spit out an answer to them, I want it to be a good answer, and to have good reasons supporting it.  And unless there are serious, negative consequences to waiting, I will say no before I will be rushed into a decision.

I know that they are watching, and remembering, the decisions we make.  On top of wanting to make wise decisions, I want to model making wise decisions.  Hopefully I embody that more than I embody the negative alternatives.