Phillips: Assess where you are

I was sitting the other day at our metal yard table, and one of Marge’s five cats was up on the table top. It was a yellow, outgoing, friendly cat we assumed was a male from the beginning. He is. As he was looking all around, he spied a flopping tag up on the ceiling of the canopy we have out front. His first reaction was to leap and see if he could get some claws in the tag. But it was almost 3 feet up to the tag, and he was sitting right on the edge of the table. I thought to myself, "If I was you, buddy, I’d evaluate or assess the risks and rewards and the cost of leaping for the tag."

As he sat there, I could see the thinking wheels twirling around in his mind. He dearly wanted to say, "To heck with the risk. Let's jump." But maybe some mistake or hurt from his past caused him to consider everything and pass.

Ever been there? Ever been in a situation where you are tempted to forge ahead even though you shouldn’t? I honestly think we have all been in that predicament. Marge and I several years ago took a couple weeks off and leisurely drove back to Nebraska. We drove through Omaha, which we will never do again. On northwest up past Valentine through Cody. Stopped in Cody where the high school students led an effort to build a baled hay grocery store. Cody is small, with like 200 people at most. Do a search of Cody, Nebraska baled hay grocery store. From there we drove on to Chadron, where Marge and I met and went to college.

From there we drove up into the Black Hills to see Crazy Horse and the Faces but when we got up in the Black Hills, it began to snow, like really snow and the temp was dropping. so the roads were fixing to get slick. At one point there was about 6 to 8 inches of snow, and temp was down to mid 30s and going down. We evaluated, or assessed, our situation and decided to get out of Dodge, so to speak, and headed south and drove down to Chadron. We got a room there and woke up to snow on the roads the next morning. If we’d got a room in Sturgis or Rapid, we may have still been there.

After I graduated from high school, I attended McCook Junior College in McCook, Nebraska. Several of my friends from Arthur also attended the college there. When we went in to sign up for classes, I chose classes that I thought I’d enjoy. Analytical Geometry and Calculus, Chemistry 1, Intro to Physics, P.E. and beginning Spanish, for a total of 21 hours. Four five-hour classes and a single one hour class. I had no clue what taking 21 hours meant. I had no experience to fall back on and no one to really help me decide. I didn’t have anything to assess what I should do. It worked out OK, but it wasn’t the best beginning to my college studies.

The need to assess where you are and where you would like to be can pertain to about anything. Could be buying a house. Could be buying a car or pickup. Could be a new job or staying where you currently are. Could be the friends you currently have or friends you need. Could be your current physical condition and where you would like to be or need to be.

It helps when I get a piece of paper and write down the pros and the cons. Get them in black and white or in my case yellow. I like yellow ruled notepads. Take your time and don’t get in a rush. Seek advice from a reputable source and not some dip stick. Facebook is also not the place to seek advice.

Listen to that little voice that whispers from deep in your spiritual heart. Sleep on it. Some of my best decisions have come after a night of sleep. Don’t get in a hurry. If it’s a very special decision spend some knee time on it.

Phillips began life as a cowboy, then husband and father, carpenter, a minister, gardener and writer. He may be reached at phillipsrb@hotmail.com.