This past summer I was conducting a leadership retreat in North Georgia when one of the participants shared a principle that I found both very insightful, and personally, very applicable.
She said that there are times in everyone’s life when we are much more susceptible to making poor choices. If, however, we learn to recognize the warning signs, we can avoid following through on a bad decision.
The key, she said, is to remember the acronym HALT. If you are experiencing one of the four symptoms represented by the word HALT, then you need to do exactly what the acronym suggests…STOP! Don’t make a decision until you have dealt with the symptom.
The four “red flags” that are major contributors to bad decisions are when we’re feeling:
- Hungry
- Angry
- Lonely
- Tired
When one or more of these conditions exist, you are more likely to make a decision that you will later regret.