The tough choices we need to make in the now of our life
We were all born to be the John Galts or Dagny Taggarts of the world,
It is our own choices that make us like James Taggart or Lilian Rearden.
It takes courage to take the road John Galt took.
What happens to most people around is that they start off on the John Galt path,
but somewhere down the line fear overcomes them and they end up as, Hank Rearden...
The times that we live in, lead us to cross roads of tough
decisions every single day. Each day we encounter situations where we have to
choose the road we want to take while moving ahead in life. It could be
anything… A career decision, a relationship drama, or an investment plan -
it all comes down to making a decision, a binary choice, yes or no.
It is important for us to make these choices, and wisely at
that. But it is also equally important for us to take full responsibility of
the consequences that these decisions would bear.
We have all made choices in our life. Those choices never
leave us. The choice between red and blue, between mathematics and biology,
between passion and career, and a lot more; they are always lingering close to
us, waiting for the final decision to be made, to decide the course of life.
Lately, I have observed people who have somehow mastered the
art of procrastination, so much so, that the decisions have been hanging for
years and not months. At this point, their life appears like the good old Indian
judicial system, where the decisions hang on for generations in a row. The
reason for procrastination - well, the ever lingering fear of making a bad
decision or worse, some sort of guilt.
Bad decisions… Is there a way of telling a good decision
from bad? If there were such a way, then what would be the fun of life? Isn’t
life about experiences and learning from those experiences? It is not about a
bad decision or a good decision. It is about making a decision or a choice when
it calls. If turns out to be good, great! If not, then take a corrective
measure and fix it.
Nobody is expected to pursue a career in the stream of education that
they do not relate with, or a career that is not fulfilling, or a
relationship/marriage where either or both the partners are unhappy. A decision
made, we should keep our eyes open to observe how those decisions are shaping
up and our heart open to make necessary corrections.
What most of us forget is that there is a difference between
taking responsibility of the consequences and living with the consequences.
Taking responsibility is a positive trait that helps us learn from those
experiences and better ourselves. Living with the consequences has a negative
connotation attached to it. Living with the consequences sounds like becoming a
prisoner to one’s own decisions.
Life is such a beautiful gift! To wake up each morning and
realize that we have another day to live, to learn, and to shape our lives the
way we want. Why waste such a beautiful gift in regrets!
So, wake up my friends… Enroll for that certificate course
that you have been feeling so dicey about, apply for that job that you think
will take you a step closer to your dream. And not to forget, pick-up your
mobile and make that phone call to the girl or boy you love so much but haven’t
really expressed as much. It is once in eons that we meet that one person
who fulfills and nurtures our soul, let that person know how you feel, find a
way to make things work.
Years ago, I read somewhere that we are all cut out of a
unique soul and sent in this world to explore and gather experiences. While we
are just one half of that soul, there remains another half wandering and
gathering experiences of its own. It takes several lives for these souls to
find each other. And once united, the experience is nothing less than Magic.
For all those, who have been lucky enough to meet the other half of their
wandering souls, but have been taken aback by the challenges that lie on the
way, go ahead and make it work. We are not here on this planet to live forever,
but each living moment of our life is worth spending with the person we want
to.
The same logic applies to career decisions as well. What’s
the point of baking cookies for a living when you love training dogs? Why force
yourself to climb a tree when you’re already proficient in swimming? Why bury
yourself in charts and tables and let them kill you, when you actually want to
explore the wild?
There are hurdles in our dreams but it is those hurdles
which make that dream worth accomplishing. To overcome those hurdles or to sit
and procrastinate is the choice that life has given you, today. Let’s not wait
for the grandfather years to come by, just to sit and think, “If only…”
