Day 2-68 -- So Many Choices!

Choices -- they are put before us each day of our life. Some seem minor and others carry more weight, yet it is possible that they all affect our destination in this journey. Making the decision between the many choices can be painful. Weighing pros and cons takes time and may require input from outside others. For time-limited decisions, the pain of making a choice can become excruciating. I recall the anxiety caused by making past decisions and know that current decisions will bring similar emotions.

I thought of choices today when many students were receiving information about future training and graduate school opportunities. Reflecting today on my career decisions since graduating with my first degree led me to examine outcomes of my choices. It may be understatement to say that things did not go according to original plans, but even when it felt like a poor decision with a negative outcome, there were positives experienced. Without the presumed failure of making some decisions that would have me employed far from home, I would not have become unemployed and had time to spend getting to know three of my grandparents as an adult. Looking through other choices with mixed outcomes, the positives do outweigh the negatives. We may learn more from failures than from successes that go smoothly. Less successful experiences earlier in my career helped to develop resiliency and strength out of some of the crushing disappointments. Someone once said that I was a 'risk taker,' which surprised me. Thinking that through, I learned something important about myself that has helped me.

The song I share today is a favourite that talks to me about decision making -- not to be paralysed by fear and let opportunities pass you by. It is sung by a great poet-philosopher. Enjoy!

The River -- Garth Brooks