As 2014 comes to a close, I imagine you are looking forward to what 2015 holds for you. You may have goals you want to achieve physically, spiritually, financially, professionally, and relationally.

Perhaps you have already set or begun setting those goals. Wherever you may be in the process, let me offer you a few suggestions:

Have you ever experienced shock and disbelief in hearing news about someone you know – or thought you knew? You can’t seem to get your head around connecting the shocking behavior with the person you know. This is especially true in cases of moral failure.

Have you ever been surprised to hear about someone you know doing something that took a great deal of courage? Perhaps they stood up to authority, or did not back down on a principle.

Usually the response in both cases would be, “I did not know they had it in them to do that.”

If you knew of one question to ask yourself that would have prevented you from making a major life mistake, would you have asked it?

What if you discovered that question today; would you use it to help avoid faulty decisions?

I think I just heard your response: “Well, duh!”

The question is available to you, and you can start using it immediately.

I came across the question in a book written by Andy Stanley of North Point Church in Atlanta. The book is titled, Ask It. The book is about this question and how it applies to your life.

Here is the question you are encouraged to ask before you make decisions that would affect you financially, spiritually, morally, physically and professionally.

Even with more technology to help, you are busier than ever. You never have enough time to do anything to your satisfaction.

You can’t seem to get on top of things at work; the to-do list at home keeps growing; time with loved ones is always limited. You sense the distance growing between you and your spouse. You have come to justify the lack of time with family because of busy-ness with the often used, “It’s not the quantity but the quality of the time spent together that matters.”

Take care of yourself? Impossible! You have no time to exercise, rest well, or eat properly. You always feel tired.

At some point we have had or will have a tough conversation. Whether with a friend, a neighbor, a colleague, or a family member, confrontation is never easy.

Because we dislike confrontation, and because it is so difficult, we often do anything to avoid it.

These conversations usually occur because you care about the person, you have been hurt, or you do not want someone else to get hurt.

Whatever the reason, confronting another person is never easy.

The reason we fear such conversations – and the reason it often goes poorly – is because we lack the tools of healthy confrontation.

Let me suggest some steps you can take to confront others in a healthy way.