Every day we are given hundreds and hundreds of opportunities where we have to make a decision. Sometimes our decisions have nothing but good consequences and some have nothing but bad decisions, and then some have good short term and bad long term and vice versa. In many cases we take only the time to consider the short-term effect.

The biggest decisions are left to our leaders. Their decisions can affect anywhere from one person to millions of people. Presidents, CEO’s, and even principals are just some of our major decision makers. They are stuck with decisions like who to trade with, who can teach at their school, and what to hide from the citizens of their country to avoid mass chaos. Their decisions affect everyone under them. If they just consider the short term consequences of their actions then they could end up with a year of good consequences and then a lifetime of bad ones.

When you make a decision you should consider every possible option you have and every consequence that could come with each of those options. Each decision has at least two options, an option with good results and an option with bad results. When we choose an option the first thing we should do is say to ourselves, “Which decisions will have good short term and long term consequences on me.” This is important because you could make a new friend because of your choice but then you could lose your best friend in the whole world. Next you should think about whom else will be affected by your decision. You do not want to end up hurting someone that is very close to you. There are some situations where you will make a decision and think that it will only come with positive consequences and then ten or twenty years down the road you or someone else gets hit with the bad consequence.

An example of someone not thinking through all their options and the consequences that would come with them is with someone killing themselves last year. They thought that killing themselves was the only option they had so they took it. They didn’t take the time to think about who all they would hurt. Their death shook several people in our small town. They were not the only ones who were at fault for not thinking things through. Their friends had been warned but had not taken her seriously. They thought it was but a joke. They did not think about the consequence of ignoring her and when the time came they had to live with the knowledge that they could have helped. This may be a harsh example but it is an example of what can happen when you don’t think things through. You might solve your problems but hurt someone else. If you are in a situation where somebody will be hurt no matter what then you should choose the solution that hurts as little people as possible.