Choices

Choices

Life throws choices and dilemmas at us everyday.
Ever been in the rain and you thought that your umbrella was big enough to keep you dry? But the moment you step into the rain with the umbrella, BAM, you're bombarded from all sides. After a couple of steps you might as well throw your umbrella away and walk in the rain!

Recently, I had to make one of those future affecting decisions. I had several choices and I had to choose one. Seemed easy at first, since I knew what I wanted. But insecurity has a way of eating at you after you make a decision. I'm sure several if not most of us has had a moment of insecurity.

Let's take it from a student's perspective. Choosing your subject combinations. How many of us edit, recheck, re edit, redo, re think our choices of subjects? I was quite confident with what I wanted, Physics, Economic and English. For those who haven't realized yet, the initials for my subject choice is PEE. (hehe) But honestly speaking, I had ALOT of doubt after keying in my choice.

"Is it the right choice?"
"Will this help my future?"
"Am I going to have a future?"


There is a phrase from the bible:
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow.They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautiful as they are.

Matthew 6: 27-29

Do not worry. MAKE a decision. and GO into it whole-heartedly  

Now here's the interesting part: How do I go about making decisions?

Sure, It's definitely easy to tell people to be more decisive, but how do you actually go about making the right choices? Here are some tips (there may be better or other ways, but these are just some things I do)

1) Ask yourself: What are your values?

Many people, including myself at times, tend to stray from our values when making decisions. Some factors that cause us to stray are like: Peer pressure, Self doubt, Good speakers... (yeah, I almost got scammed once by this extremely well articulated guy)

So now take some time, look away from the screen, and think. What are your values? 

2) Does this decision only affect you

Many people make decisions without considering how it's going to affect others. Heard of the Domino effect? For those who've never played domino before (do try it out), it's basically a game, whereby you arrange a few blocks at a certain distance from each other, when you push down 1 block, all the other blocks get knocked down one by one.

What this shows is how one action, it may even be a small one, can have an impact on everyone. Do you want an error in judgement to affect everyone? Yeah...I didn't think you wanted to either.

3) Are you in the right frame of mind?

I did a philosophy essay last year on decision making. Whether it was logic based or emotion based. I concluded it was mostly emotion based. I won't go at length on what I wrote (maybe another time) but it is true, very often we make our decisions based on our emotions. This could be good...and bad. 

Why good?

Let's say I'm trying to sell you something, I'll work towards not just having an awesome product but making you feel good too. If you're happy, the chances of you appreciating, having a positive feel towards me and buying my product is high. 

Why bad?

Have you seen how drunk people in bars or clubs make the most irrational decisions? That's because their emotions are on a high and they aren't controlling their emotions properly. They make decisions based on the moment, without thinking.

Think first, then decide. Once you've decided, don't turn back. Why? You've done the thinking process thoroughly at the start.

Choices are plentiful, so making the right choice is really important! I Hope this post helps you when you're making your next decision! 

Take care! Hope you decide to Lift Someone Higher today!

Any feedback or comments? Just drop me a note below! OR follow me on twitter: @toranseth and DM me! :)