Like most college students, I am called upon to make choices every day whether it is what I want to eat for breakfast, what I’m going to study, or where I am going after class. Yes, these are small choices, but they still require thought. In many other countries around the world, people don’t have the luxury of making so many choices, but the funny thing is, they seem HAPPIER.
Why is that? In America, we have endless opportunities, but somehow we still want more.
From a young age, many of us were told we could be whatever we wanted when we grew up. I’m sure we’ve all narrowed it down a little by now, but still, the option was there. I know for me it was always a struggle to make a decision, especially when it came to the future because I had so many options that I was scared about missing out on the others. As soon as you make a decision, it’s not always possible to go back on it and when things don’t go right, you immediately start thinking about that other opportunity you didn’t take. You somehow believe you might be happier if you made a different decision. You’ll start to drive yourself crazy when you have four and five of those opportunities to think about.
So, why aren’t we happy with all these choices? It’s because we are worried too much about what we have missed out on to be happy with what we’ve been given. We could learn a lesson or two from the less fortunate about finding joy in everything we have been given. So, next time you’re feeling down because you can’t make a decision, find joy in knowing you have a choice.
Yes, it’s going to be tough to justify decisions you make when life gets tough, but remember that it could’ve been just as hard taking that other path you chose not to take. I like to think of life as a big poker game sometimes to help me figure out how all this comes together. You’re dealt certain cards in life that you can’t really change, but you’ve always got the choice of which ones to play. Once you’ve played them and lose out, you can’t take them back. All you can do is laugh about it and wait for the next hand.
Happiness isn’t about having the choice, it’s about making the choice and learning to love whatever comes of it. We all want to live a happy life, but the fact of the matter is looking at past decisions and wondering “what if?” isn’t going to bring you joy. You have to look around you and give thanks for the cards you’ve been dealt and laugh when things don’t always go like you planned. Yeah you’re going to make some choices and have regrets, but that’s just a part of living. That’s my version, but Forrest Gump makes it a little bit easier for all of us; “Life’s like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.”
