Choices, Decisions & Even More Choices

How often to you seem stuck between two choices? Mostly ones that severely and drastically change your life completely (at least that’s what you think right before you take your pick). And I’m not talking about choosing whether you want a burger or pizza for lunch (if you think these choices affect your life severely than I suggest you stop reading and start focusing more on getting your life together… Seriously, get a grip!)

Now, back to our subject, we often find ourselves picking between two options (sometimes more than two). Why? Because life is not fair to us people and won’t let you have more than one thing at a time (except if you’re rich). Choices are everywhere in your daily life. And it is what we decide on our daily basis that defines who we are in the end.

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” - Eleanor Roosevelt.

But what does having to make a choice mean? Well we all know what it means essentially, but still, it would be nice if we can find a simple definition on the Internet that can break it down to us. Oh wait, we can!

So after a long time researching (about 2 minutes) here’s the definition of the word ‘choice’: it’s basically the “mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one or more of them.” (So wait, you mean I had it right all along. And to think I had to research...)

Most of the time, choices are made between real options and are followed by equivalent actions (like for example choosing a route for a journey). Of course we’re not really talking about simple decisions like choosing which way is best to go home from. Most people find that having a choice is always comforting. However having more that two options to pick from could lead to confusion.

But how do we (or should we) make everyday decisions? Flipping a coin would be an easy choice obviously (when the coin is high up in the air, you’ll find yourself secretly wishing for a certain option to win). But it won’t really work when it comes to serious decision-making.

“Trust your instincts, and make judgments on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.” - David Gemmell, Fall of Kings.

Well, that works as well. But sometimes your heart (which is basically your intuition) could be tricky. On one hand your heart will always be true to you, on the other hand, what your heart desires is not always what’s best for you. It could tell you “Yes go out with this person, s/he could be the one, s/he is so nice, like an angel.” Some time passes, and you realize that even Satan was an angel once.

You can always take the obvious and best of both options. But we’re not really choosing then are we?

In the end you’ll find out that whatever process you use to reach your final decision, all that matters is whether you’ll stick by it or not, whether your family and friends will support you on your decision or not, and last but not least, whether you’re really convinced of the decision you made.

If you find yourself pressured into making a choice, you’re bound to turn even the littlest positive outcome into a curse. On the other hand, taking full responsibility for your decisions can make failure feel like victory (at least you gave it all you’ve got). In the end, you would’ve gained valuable, precious and even crucial life experience that will definitely help you next time.