Life is full of difficult choices. There comes a time in everyone’s life when we must make these hard choices. Many of them are big, and some of them are minor. Decision making can be agonizing. Occasionally we are bound to make crucially vital decisions for major life goals.
Some choices are dictated by careers, and other choices are dictated by life in general. These decisions may keep you up at night and make you wonder which direction you should choose.
After months of contemplation, I finally made a difficult decision. I decided to take the risk and pursue my dream. It was a difficult decision to make, but ultimately, I realized that I had to go with my passion and stay true to my heart.
When it comes time to make a decision, I have learned that above all, you should not have any regrets. Would of, could of, and should of are feelings that can haunt you forever. Do you really want to wonder about what could have been? Perhaps making the decision you are worrying about will turn out to have wonderful results. You won't know unless you try!
"Seize any opportunities or anything that looks like opportunity. They are rare, much rarer than you think......"
-Nassim Nicholas Thaleb in the Black Swan
Decisions can be very difficult. The decision you make may mean cutting something or someone out of your life and leaving it in your past. It is difficult to leave others behind. Sometimes there are feelings of guilt and abandonment, but you must ultimately realize that your path is not their path, and theirs is not yours. During this journey of life, you are traveling on your own. Remember, life is a choice. It’s how you handle it and the bumpy road that comes with it that makes the difference. "I have discovered I always have choices and sometimes it’s only a choice of attitude."
1. One must weigh all the odds and decide the best path.
It may not be an easy path, but it's your path nonetheless.
2. Does the decision have equal risks and benefits?
Would it affect my career in the years to come?
3. Stick with your gut feeling.
Your gut feelings are usually good ones. Trust them!
4. Don't be afraid.
Sometimes you must come out of your comfort zone. I think that we can all agree that leaving that zone can be scary at best.
5. Don't step backwards. Move forward and make that difficult decision without fear.
6. Examine the options.
Are there other options? Would you be satisfied with those options?
7. Weigh the Pros and Cons.
Create a two column list. Place the pros in one column and the cons in the other. What does this list tell you?
8. What is the value of the outcome?
Does the outcome create a better life for you and maybe even your whole family?
Here is one of my favorite poems about making a decision. I have always treasured the works of Robert Frost. He lived in New Hampshire and was responsible for beautiful imagery and portrayed the beauty of nature in the granite state. Here he discusses the importance of decisions, but that some decisions are not the most popular or easy ones to make.
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
It is hard to make decision, especially when it affects everyone around you. You may impact other lives, so do so with as much honor and compassion as possible, but do not shy away from the difficult decisions. They will come back to haunt you again and again.
Remember, whether your decision turns out to be good or bad, you learn from each experience.
The fear of the unknown can deter a decision. This fear may not be easy to overcome. The regret is in not doing, the regret is not in failing, but not in doing at all. Don't be afraid to take a risk and be different. Simply put, don't stay in life's limbo. Who knows? This could be an adventure! People who dare to take a risk and be different are those who will change the world.
Good Luck!
