What's Your Choice?

                        CHOICES!

What's your choice?

At certain point of time, we all realize that life is all about the choices we make. Isn't it?

The way life unfolds, it requires us to make choices and decisions at every step of our way.

"THIS OR THAT"- concludes every definition of Choice.

The magic of choice exists in its nature, i.e, it could be as simple as breathing or it could be as difficult as death.

WHY DO WE MAKE CHOICES?

Why do we have to keep choosing between certain things, all the time? Like, while buying clothes or while ordering food or while selecting a stream after high school or while looking for a life partner and the list goes on.

From selecting what we want to eat for dinner to selecting which profession we want to pursue in life, we have to keep choosing.

Because, we can't have it all!

No matter how rich you are, how intelligent you are, you have to make choices because everything isn't meant for everyone. You're bound to choose the best for you.

   "Choose your love, love your choice."

CHOICES REPRESENTS SACRIFICE 

In late November, one of my very close friends, came to a fork in the road. One lead her to a relationship and the other to a career and future success. For her, it was tremendously difficult as she had no clear signs on how to make this choice. It came down to this: whatever decision she made, there would be a sacrifice.

Isn't it little scary to have a thought of loosing something or someone which we might need tomorrow but that won't be attainable to us if we don't clutch it today?

"Choosing something inherently means giving up something else."

I don't know about you but I get little stressed whenever it comes at making a choice.
Once my mother asked me that why it is always difficult for me to make choices, even a simple one. I replied in a very low tone that it is because choices include sacrifices.

At that very moment, she enhanced my perspective about 'choices and sacrifices' by saying "as soon as you make a choice, you are picking one thing over another and while in the moment it may seem that you're sacrificing something of value behind but in the end, the decision you're making is actually propelling you forward and helping you to move away from the path which isn't meant for you."

"It comes with great strength that we can see these alleged sacrifices not as sacrifices at all but as choices which aren't meant for us." 

IS IT IMPORTANT TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES? 

We've been listening to this all our life that darkness makes us appreciate the light, autumn makes us able to enjoy the warmth of  spring and likely, wrong(bad) choices helps us to select good choices. But is it really true? Do we need to make a wrong choice in order to clear our perception about good choices?

Unlike animals, we've been blessed with the capability to differentiate between good & bad. Since childhood, we've been taught to see the difference between garbage and garden. So when we already have the power to detect 'the good' in every thing, why do we still need to make a bad choice and regret it later and then settling for a mediocre choice?

Bad choices aren't intentional but while making a choice, we must be clear with all our intentions to arrive at a good choice, at a initial stage. Bad choices always make us realize about what a good choice could be and lead us into regrets. We must be capable to eliminate those regrets because hey, life is too short to live in any kind of regret.

"We've all got both light and darkness inside us, what matters is the part we choose to act on.   -J.K Rowling"

So yeah! It is surely important to make good as well as best choices for ourselves.

MAKING A CHOICE IS A SKILL

What is that one major factor which helps a person while making a choice? Human Nature. 

When two people, one of whom is fearless, enjoys risks and is adventurous, and the other one who is fearful of making changes or making mistakes, preferring to stay close to what is familiar, are given same, two options, will make different choices.

Making a decision or choosing something is a skill(an important one) which should be taught at initial stage of life.

Children never learn to make their own choices or decisions because they've never been taught about this. Many of the important choices have been made for them and they may simple have 'no say' in the matter.

We might think that teaching the skill of making choices to a toddler is too young but that's not the case. Even a toddler need to be given controlled options. For instance: offer the child a choice between two things only, like "Do you want a candy or a sake?" "Do you want to wear a red shirt or a black one?" This allows them to have a voice in making choices.

"Making a right choice is one of the most important skills to own."

 HOW TO MAKE RIGHT CHOICES?

Since you've read this post this far, you might be thinking that everyone appreciates the benefits of right choices which they make but it is always not that simple to choose between certain things.

Yes, it is not but knowing the fact that you're going to be responsible for your choices, you can consider about asking certain questions to yourself before making a choice.

Before you make a choice, ask this to yourself:

➢What will happen if I choose to do this?

➢How will I feel if I choose this?

If choosing something involves someone else too,

➢What do I think they will feel as a result of my choice?

If you're feeling confused about making a choice:

➣Re-think.

➣Include the reason for your choice.

➣Brainstorm for possible options.

➣Don't procrastinate.

➣Put your experiences from your past,if any.

"Good choices are those decisions that keep you heading in the direction in which you want to go."

-AASHI :)