Fortune Cookie Friday: It’s All About Choices

My husband has a saying, “Life’s all about choices.” In essence, he is correct. We make choices in life all the time. From choosing what to wear to deciding on a career, our decisions determine where we go and whether we will succeed.

Since it’s a new year, we traditionally decide to give up something or try to improve ourselves. Not everyone will succeed at their New Year’s resolutions. Even deciding if we want to have a New Year’s resolution can be tricky. Nonetheless, we move forward, selecting some things over others in hopes that we will be happy, better people.

Luckily, most decisions are minor and easily remedied if we choose poorly. Perhaps we ate too many desserts this past month. Not to worry, we can perform a few more push-ups or run an extra mile to compensate for our transgression.

Of course, not all decisions are small potatoes. Sometimes, we face the challenge of making an all-important decision that affects our future or that of another. At these times, a bit of wisdom can help.

When it comes to choosing wisely, there are a few things we can do to help us along the way.

Don’t Panic

Many of our worst decisions come from panicking or rushing to a solution. It’s best if we remain calm and think about our options. Sometimes planning can help when we know we may not be in the right mindset come decision time. This can be very helpful when dealing with medical decisions or emergencies.

For example, we practice fire drills and memorize our escape routes so that we are prepared to make the right call when faced with a life-threatening decision. Planning can also help with our financial decisions. With some planning, we won’t panic when unexpected money problems arise.

Ask For Help

Let’s face it; we can’t know everything. Sometimes, certain decisions require knowledge beyond our own skill, education, or years. This is the perfect time to consult with others to help us choose correctly.

We can get advice from people we trust, such as friends or family. They will likely have a different perspective on the situation and an unbiased opinion.

We can also ask people who have had a similar experience and get their perspectives. They can inform us of their obstacles and what they did to overcome them. Even if their choices aren’t exactly like ours, their situation may open possibilities that we didn’t consider.

Make A List

Sometimes decision-making is complex because we have too many choices. If you’ve ever been to a Baskin-Robbins and beheld their “31 flavors” of ice cream, you know that many options can be daunting, especially if you are only allowed to choose one.

Creating a list can help. By eliminating any options we don’t want and listing what’s left, we reduce the choices to a select few. The smaller sample is manageable and easier to tackle.

Pros And Cons

Even if we have only a few choices, we may still need help. Comparing the positives and negatives of each option can help us whittle them down to one final decision.

It helps if we utilize listing and knowledge from others to flush out each option’s characteristics. When we are done, we should have a comprehensive list that we can use in the future.

Decisions don’t have to be daunting. Most won’t end the world, and we have the means to make good life decisions. If we choose poorly, we should take responsibility for our mistakes and try to remedy them.

Most importantly, we should learn from our mistakes so that we make better choices in the future and become better people.