Choose Your Own Adventure
By Shazad
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
When I was a teenager, I came across these amazing books that took the reader on multiple paths, depending on the choices they made at critical points in the story. If something didn’t work out well, the reader could explore an alternative and see how it turned out. Our lives are the same way. There are so many decisions we have to make and possible paths we could take. Many people’s lives are a winding, confusing, and truly fascinating adventure filled with dreams, sweat, difficult choices, and unexpected but positive outcomes.
With the exception of some fatal mistakes, many of our choices allow us to try something else if we take a wrong turn or end up somewhere we didn’t want to be. Some opportunities in life do have a short window, but many have a wide margin of error. For example, if you order an appetizer you don’t like, you can order another one. If you get your hair cut or styled in a way that doesn’t work, you can wait about a month for it to grow back and try something else next time. Even a bad grade on a single school assignment doesn’t mean automatic failure. You could try harder for the rest of the semester and do very well on the final exam. Ask yourself what the worst-case scenario is for each of your choices. If it’s not certain death/disability, complete bankruptcy, becoming homeless, or jail time, you can probably recover without too much time or effort. Every time we make a choice, we have to be prepared for some outcome. It may be desirable and what we were looking for, or it may be totally wrong for us. We often have a chance to make a different choice right away or a while later.
The person who didn’t graduate from university in their 20s may return as a new 40+ student and finish their bachelor’s degree, or even pursue a PhD. The person who married young and divorced by 29 may find a deeper connection around age 40, leading to an enduring marriage. Perhaps you are a 50-something with chronic health issues, and you finally decide to do something about it, resulting in the best health of your life all the way to the end.
Time is precious and should not be squandered trying to undo a bunch of bad decisions in life. A responsible person recognizes that their time here is limited and uncertain, so wisdom and courage in decision-making are essential. However, it’s rarely “too late” to choose differently or try again. We can’t intentionally delay decisions, but we should also consider whether we can simply choose again. Many people finish their education, start a business, and find true love later in life, and remain happy as a result. The biggest regret is staying stuck in a moment when you could have made another choice and moved towards a better path, but didn't.
Every day you are alive is a chance to do so!
What new and better decisions will you make today, and where will your adventure take you?
Have An Awesome Day Every Day!
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