Life is About Choices Pick a Horse and Ride It

Do you ever ask yourself why certain things happen to you?  Well life is a winding road. There are long and short roads; smooth and bumpy roads; crooked and straight paths. There are roads that lead to blessedness, like the birth of a baby or happy marriage. There are roads that lead to fame and fortune, and others that lead to isolation and poverty. There are roads to happiness to sadness, to victory , 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 could and probably have already encountered is a crossroad, with four directions to choose from and with limited knowledge on where you’ll end up. Decision time is here. What is the guarantee that you’ll choose the “right” one?  Or will you simply stand still with indecision and lack of clarity waiting for the guarantee.

There are no guarantees.

You do not really want to know where every  road will lead?  Even if you did, are you be ready for the answers.  Forget about what you might think you want to know because there are no guarantees.. Nobody said that choosing to do the right thing all the time would always lead 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 simply too many possible outcomes, which are out of your  control. The only thing you do  have power over is the decisions that you make, and how you react to different situations.

There are no wrong decisions only lessons.

Almost no one would willingly make a decision they is knew was wrong for them.  It’s only after the decision is made and you see the results that you know the soundness and the consequences of the outcome.  But as the saying goes hindsight is 20:20.  The most important thing to learn at that point is the lesson the decision has taught you. Otherwise you’ll find yourself living like the movie “Groundhog day”  reliving the same mistakes over and over again.

Take the risk: decide.

I am what you call directionally challenged.  When I am driving I almost always go in the wrong direction.  If my sense is to make a right then surely I should have made a left turn.  Even when I think I should right and decide to make the left turn then I should have turned right.  I am just one of those people in the world.  But here’s how I look at it .  I have to decide, because you can’t steer a ship that is docked and you can’t steer a car that is parked.  If I  look at my excursions as an opportunity of a new adventure and throw caution to the wind and become the accidental tourist.  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 decide 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?

• 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.