I’ve been noticing more and more that no matter how much we plan or how determined we are to achieve something, there inevitably comes a moment when we are forced to make a difficult choice. In that choice we will display what we value most.
Do I venture into the unknown or stick with the familiar?
Do I commit to my plan or fold at the first sign of adversity?
Do I say yes or no?
There will be moments where uncertainty begins to creep into your mind. Buyer’s remorse makes you question if experience A was really a better purchase than experience B.
It is at that point you must remember there is always more than one path.
For everything you have missed, you gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
It may appear that the choice you make is arbitrary if something will always be gained and something always lost. But it is that something that makes the decision worth contemplating.
Regardless of the choice you make, I offer you this piece of advice:
Own it.
Do not regret it.
Own it.
Do not make excuses as to why you did it.
Own it.
There is no right or wrong, only what we value. If the thought of ownership scares you, examine your values. When we own our choices we announce to the world that we are taking ownership of our journey. If you’re anything like me, it’s a lot easier to enjoy something when you own it.
I’m ready to sign on the dotted line… are you with me?
*featured image credited to luckstomper
Steve,
I appreciate the post and the message, as always. We need to take some heart in being born and own our lives–stop trying to blame others for our actions.
This sounds like a mantra I try to live my life by: no regrets. We all make decisions every single day and sometimes those decisions lead to precarious situations where we often look back in the past instead of into the future. It is always easier to judge our lives based upon what we have done or decisions we have made, but most of the time it is the decisions that we make based upon our future that are most rewarding. Obviously trying to make decisions with facts unknown carries a lot of risk, but being able to realize the outcomes of the choices that we make and to be happy with those are far more satisfying than sitting here and wishing I had done something different. We cannot change the past, but we can alter the future.
Use our failures as lessons learned to refine our decision-making; use our successes as opportunities to reinforce sound logic in decisions we made. As the poster has said though, use our judgment to own our decisions and to refine them in such a way that they help us lead to the end point of the path we wish to arrive at in the journey of our lives.
I appreciate and agree wholeheartedly with your statement,
“Use our failures as lessons learned to refine our decision-making; use our successes as opportunities to reinforce sound logic in decisions we made.”
When we own our choices and take control of our journey it affords us the ability to learn and grow because our decisions are not in the hands of others. Thanks for your thoughts big guy.