Day 8: Be Guided by Wisdom, Not Impulse

"Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Proverbs 19:2 NLT

If you are impulsive, you tend to lack discipline. You can be thoughtless, or insensitive to others, or driven by appetite. You may have a hard time with delayed gratification. You have a low frustration tolerance. You get bored easily. You can fly off the handle. If this describes you, here are six principles you should try to incorporate into your life: (1) Ask counsel from wise friends before plunging forward with an idea. "The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge" (Pr 18:15 NKJV). (2) Cultivate friendships with people who are not only wise but strong enough to hold you accountable. "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed" (Jas 5:16). (3) Spend time praying about a potential open door before assuming that your intuition is a divine command. "He shows the proper path to those who go astray. He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way" (Ps 25:8-9 NLT). (4) Study and read about an area of need before you commit yourself to action. "Only simpletons believe everything they're told! The prudent carefully consider their steps" (Pr 14:15 NLT). (5) When you come to the end of a season of activity, spend some time in reflection so that you can become a wiser person before you go on to the next thing. "Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty" (Pr 21:5 NLT). (6) Make a commitment and stick with it, even when the next impulse, which looks so much more fun, comes along.