Life is About Choices and the Decisions We Make
Life is like a road. There are long and short roads; smooth
and rocky roads; crooked and straight paths. During your life many
different types of roads will come your way on your journey. There
are roads that lead to a life of single bliss, marriage, or even, a
religious vocation. There are also roads that lead to fame and
fortune on one hand, or isolation and poverty on the other. There
are roads to happiness as there are roads to sadness, roads towards
victory and jubilation, and roads leading to defeat and
disappointment.
Just like any road, there are corners, detours, and crossroads in
life. Perhaps the most perplexing road that you would encounter is a
crossroad. With three roads to choose from and with limited
knowledge on where they will lead, which road will you take? What is
the guarantee that we would choose the right one along the way?
Would you take any road, or just stay where you are: in front of a
crossroad?
There are no guarantees.
You do not really know where a road will lead you until you take
it. There are no guarantees. This is one of the most important
things you need to realize about life. Nobody said that choosing to
do the right thing all the time would always lead you to happiness.
Loving someone with all your heart does not guarantee that it would
be returned. Gaining fame and fortune does not guarantee happiness.
Accepting a good word from an influential superior to shorten your
trip up the career ladder is not always bad, especially if you are
highly qualified and competent. There are too many possible
outcomes, which your really cannot control. The only thing you have
power over is the decisions that you will make, and how you will act
or react to different situations.
Wrong decisions are always in hindsight.
Had you known that you were making a wrong decision, would you
have gone along with it? Perhaps not, why would you choose a certain
path when you know it may get you lost? Why decide on a course of
action if you knew from the very beginning that it may not be the
right one. It is only after you have made a decision and reflected
on it that you realise its soundness. If the consequences or
outcomes are good for you, then you have decided correctly.
Otherwise, your decision was wrong. Wrong decisions are great - If
we learn from them!
Take the risk: decide.
Since life offers no guarantees, you will never know that your
decision will be wrong, until you have made it. Once you have made
that decision you may as well see where the road leads. It is
definitely better than keeping yourself in limbo. Although it is
true that one wrong turn could get you lost, it could also be that
such a turn could be an opportunity for an adventure and open even
more roads to travel. It is all a matter of perspective. You have
the choice between being a lost traveller or an accidental tourist
of life. But take caution that you do not make decisions
haphazardly. Taking risks is not about being careless and stupid.
Here are some pointers that could help you choose the best option in
the face of life’s crossroads:
Collect as much information as you can about your
situation.
You cannot find the confidence to decide when you know little
about what you are faced with. Just like any news journalist, ask
the 5 W’s: what, who, when, where, and why. What is the situation?
Who are the people involved? When did this happen? Where is this
leading? Why are you in this situation? These are just some of the
possible questions to ask yourself in order to know more about where
you are. This is important. Often, the reason for indecision is the
lack of information about a situation.
Identify and create options.
What options does the situation give you? Sometimes you have
few options, and at other times they are numerous. However, what do
you do when there appears to be no options at all? This is when you
create your own. Get your creative juices working. Think through the
most simple options, to the most complicated, entertain all ideas,
even those that, at first, seem patently ridiculous. Do not discard
anything when an idea comes to your head. Sometimes the most
outrageous idea could prove to be the right one in the end. You can
even ask a friend to help you identify new options if you encounter
some difficulty. Another person, who is not directly involved, will
often see things that you are blind to. However it is important to
ensure that you are the one making the final decision.
Weigh the pros and cons of every option.
Assess each option by looking at the advantages and disadvantages
it offers you. In this way, you get more insights about the
consequences of such an option.
Trust yourself and then, make that decision.
Now that you have assessed your options, it is time to trust
yourself. Remember that there are no guarantees and wrong decisions
are always at hindsight. So choose… decide… believe that you
are choosing the best option at this point in time.
Now that you have made a decision, be ready to face its
consequences: good and bad. It may take you to a place of promise or
to a land of problems. But the important thing is that you have
chosen to live your life instead of remaining a bystander or a
passive audience to your own life. Whether it is the right decision
or not, only time can tell. Do not regret it, whatever the outcome.
Instead, learn from it and remember that you will always have the
chance to make better decisions in the future.
Further Self Improvement resources are
available from
The Freedom
Seed
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