Making your own choices

[Tuumble]

Why are you here? On this page I mean. What was it that made you decide that you should look at this particular article over all the other thousands on the site?

That’s not for me to say but hopefully I can persuade you to stick around a while. It might not be as easy as it sounds because you are a free spirit - you make your own decisions and you decide what’s coming next in your life, not me.

Now think for a moment. Are you already wavering as to whether you should carry on reading this or not? Are you thinking that I’m wasting your time by not getting to the point? Just what is it that I’m trying to say?

Well I’ll tell you: At every single moment of every waking hour you are making a choice and it is you that is in control of every one of them. It may not feel like it but it’s true.

Sure, there will be occasions when we will be placed in awkward situations by other people that we don’t want to deal with but it is us that writes the next scene. For example my boss could fire me. What would I do? I may get upset or angry or violent. I may be philosophical, rational or pleased. Hey, you always said you wanted to leave that crumby job.

Do you see what I’m saying? I’m faced with a situation, I react to it. The question is what reaction will it be?

Think of your life as a road. You approach a junction and you are left with a decision to make. Do you go one way or another? In life we can become all-consumed by indecision for fear that whatever choice we make, it will be the wrong one. This is perhaps an understandable reaction but pretty irrational because wherever this road or path leads, we always get another choice: Whether to change direction again or keep on going.

How our days pan out and how we feel emotionally about them can be determined by a series of unconnected events seemingly beyond our control. Your child spills a drink on your monthly report, the heel comes off your shoe on the way to the station, you miss your train or it’s delayed. While we can usually accept that these things happen in hindsight, when faced with the actual chaos, it feels as if the world is conspiring against us.

As Tony Robbins says, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped”. No matter how trivial the choice may seem, it sets of a chain reaction of further events but whether these are created internally or by externally, we still decide how we react.

Life is cyclical with good times and bad which is what makes being a human being so fascinating. Don’t dwell on the ifs and the buts but grasp the opportunities you are faced with. Deal with what you can change - your thoughts and your decisions - and take the pressure off yourself.

I guess what I’m trying to say is is that at any moment, you life is about choices. We can decide what we want to do. We may be afraid of the immediate consequences but if we know in out heart that the decision is in our best interest we should just do it. If it don’t work our first time, have another go!

[Angela]

I'll tell you why I opened up this thread -- because you wrote it, Tuumble. Whatever you have to say, I want to hear it.

And I'm so glad I did. Your timing is perfect in reminding me what I already know but was hiding from myself. I have been a little anxious about a small matter today and your words have comforted me.

Thank you, Tuumble.

Angela

[Tuumble]

Hi Angela

I'm glad the words spoke to you on a personal level. We all know the rules we just have to have the conviction to follow them through.

T

[Marco Polo]

I liked this post because it resonates well with what I've been thinking about lately. For a long time I've suffered from bad sleep, and I've tried to pinpoint a single cause for my problem. Slowly I've come to realize that it was actually a long series of bad choices (all seemingly trivial) that set it off.

Each choice we make initiates, and indeed is part of, a chain reaction based on cause and effect. I personally use this as part of an argument for hard determinism (in which I'm desperately trying to incorporate an allowance for free will). But that's a different discussion entirely.

[Joely]

Thank you. I really needed to read this today.

[ondrej]

You said what most people feel but never is fully realizing.

Very nice post, I think it will help me today. Thanks.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Tuumble

Why are you here? On this page I mean. What was it that made you decide that you should look at this particular article over all the other thousands on the site?

That’s not for me to say but hopefully I can persuade you to stick around a while. It might not be as easy as it sounds because you are a free spirit - you make your own decisions and you decide what’s coming next in your life, not me.

Now think for a moment. Are you already wavering as to whether you should carry on reading this or not? Are you thinking that I’m wasting your time by not getting to the point? Just what is it that I’m trying to say?

I dunno. I stopped at this point. lol (really)