We are frequently presented with the necessity for determining what we shall do first. This is true whether one is concerned with the small and relatively unimportant details of the day's routine, or with what are regarded as the larger and more important things of life. But whatever one's pursuits or objective may be, he can be sure that before he reaches his goal he will have decisions to make as to what at the moment is the most important thing for him to do. And the wisdom embodied in his decisions will, in substantial degree, measure the success of his undertakings, even of his quest for spirituality.
There may be critical moments when it would seem as if a wrong decision would involve defeat, and the suggestion of such a possibility may be accompanied by a sense of anxiety such as would tend to confuse one's thinking, especially when an instant decision may appear imperative. At times there may be a situation in which it appears that any one of several courses of action could be followed with substantially the same results; nevertheless, when they are carefully weighed in the light of the teachings of Christian Science, one of them will be found to be the better course to pursue. But having adopted, after painstaking examination and prayerful thought, what one believes to be the better plan, he needs to be constantly on guard, for he is almost certain to be assailed by one of humanity's most subtle enemies—doubt —which will suggest to him that it would have been better if he had taken another course. Doubt of one's capacity to be guided by Principle should be rebuked immediately, as its purpose always is to undermine one's confidence in the decision one has come to after confiding in God, and thus to frustrate at the outset such efforts as would otherwise have been successful in the promotion of the welfare of all concerned.
Many persons suffer from indecision, and often allow themselves to await passively subsequent developments. But this is generally a negative condition, from which one needs to rouse himself; for satisfactory results can be obtained only by intelligently directed thinking and action. The remedy for mental inertia and instability is to cultivate more trust in spiritual understanding.
