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. In our life many roads
would come our way as we journey through life. There are roads that lead to a
life of single blessedness, marriage, and 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 four roads to choose from and with limited knowledge on
where they would go, 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. 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 would act and react to different situations.
Wrong decisions are
always at 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 would get you lost? Why make a certain decision if you
knew from the very beginning that it is not the right one. It is only after you
have made a decision and reflected on it that you realize its soundness. If the
consequences or outcomes are good for you, then you have decided correctly.
Otherwise, your decision was wrong.
Take the risk:
decide.
Since life offers no guarantee and you would never
know that your decision would be wrong until you have made it, then you might
as well take the risk and decide. 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, moreover open more roads. 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:
Get as many information as you can about your
situation.
You cannot find the confidence to decide when you know
so little about what you are faced with. Just like any news reporter, 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 to know more
about your situation. This is important. Oftentimes, the reason for indecision
is the lack of information about a situation.
Identify and create
options.
What options do the situation give you? Sometimes the
options are few, but sometimes they are numerous. But what do you do when you
think that the situation offers no options? This is the time that you create
your own. Make your creative mind work. From the most simplistic to the most
complicated, entertain all ideas. Do not shoot anything down when an idea comes
to your head. Sometimes the most outrageous idea could prove to be the right
one in the end. You can ask a friend to help you identify options and even
make more options if you encounter some difficulty, but make sure that you make
the decision yourself in the end.
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
make that decision.
Now that you have assessed your options, it is now
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. But do not regret it whatever the outcome. Instead, learn from it and
remember that you always have the chance to make better decisions in the
future.
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