choices

 Have you ever resorted to flipping a coin to make a decision? How about doing eeny, meeny, miny, moe? Or one potato, two potato? And when you got the result did you immediately go with the decision or did you think "let's try 2 out of 3"? Or are you more practical, listing pros and cons of each possible choice? Do you have a version of "buyer's remorse" - once you have made your decision do you regret it? Sometimes we have real trouble making up our mind, and sometimes it is for seemingly trivial matters.

I'm not saying that we should be flippant and impulsive in our decision making, but sometimes we treat things way too hard, so serious. Part of it is that we are afraid of making the wrong decision, with terrible consequences. We want to make the best decisions, which is laudable. But the truth is that we will often make wrong decisions just like everyone else 

As I look back on my life I can see where I made bad decisions or avoided making decisions and have often wondered how different things would have turned out if I had decided differently. My first year of college was a disaster. I partied too much and studied too little. I ended up with a 1.5 GPA in a 4.0 system.. I flunked Shakespeare - me, a fan of the bard who knew several passages by heart!:(   I, an incurable experimenter, failed to put together a project for chemistry lab, rarely showing up, and got a C in chemistry only because I did very well in class. As a result I ended up changing my major and giving up my dreams of studying abroad. 

For both my wife and I had similar experiences and yet because of the paths we took we ended up together and have been happily married for over 26 years. It was meant to be, even with the errors we both made in our decision making. So when you take a tumble making a decision, pick yourself back up and go again. Look at the bright side of it all and celebrate life - you might even make a rash decision or two, but still celebrate. And by the way, if you really took inventory of all your decisions you've probably made many more right than wrong.