Decisions. We’ve all got to make them. Big, small, trivial and significant. Some people are good at them, some are bad at them. I’m starting to believe that I’ve become quite good at them. I can tell by the way I smile broadly every morning that I’m in a good position in my life and I’ve made the right independent choices to get to this point.
Of course, I didn’t start out like this. I was brought up to obey the decisions made for me. Yes, they were for my benefit and obviously at the time I was not yet of age or maturity to make the major decisions for myself. And despite it all leading to a good life-style anyway…it was completely unsatisfying because it wasn’t MY decision to live that way. I couldn’t take credit. I couldn’t have pride. I had no ownership. For me to find happiness, I had to take the reigns and make the choice for myself. I wanted to take a risk so that I could claim responsibility no matter how it turned out: good or bad. I'd either have myself to blame or claim the success for myself!
And then there’s the fear of making decisions. Or more accurately, the fear of making the wrong decision. It’s this potentially disabling fear that can stop a person in their tracks, take the low-risk path and disappear amongst the crowd of mediocrity. It is this barrier of decision making that filters the average from the awesome. Well, I think anyway.
I was given an awesome piece of off-handed advice from a dear cousin of mine, Henri.
‘Deb, there’s no such thing as the ‘wrong’ decision- just decisions that don’t work out. You can just go back, take on the new wisdom and try again.’
That simple sentence took away some of the fear for me, propelling me forth into a much more rewarding life.
Calculating risks. Courage to leap. Taking a chance. Zest to live.
When it comes to crunch, I always end up asking myself, ‘what would make the better story?’
What decision would make YOUR story better?
