We are all faced with decisions. Some are more difficult to make than others. Some have a much bigger impact than others. And some can very quickly change a great number of things in our lives.
Sometimes we have to take a blind leap of faith in making a decision. We don't really know what the outcome of our actions will be, and we just have to make the best judgement possible with the information we have available. Sometimes, we know in the back of our mind what is most likely to happen based on our actions. There are times when we make a decision even if we know the outcome won't be very favorable. We've all done it, and no one really has a good explanation as to why. But no matter what the reason is for making the decision, or how trivial or significant the decision is, we must accept whatever consequences present themselves. We must take ownership of our actions. If it was a good decision with a good outcome, we can take credit. If it was an inconsequential decision in which the outcome didn't really matter, we usually don't think twice about it and continue on with our life. If it's a bad decision and we realize that we messed up somehow, we need to take ownership of that, as well, and do our best to apologize to anyone involved, make amends if necessary, and deal as best we can with whatever other situations arise as a consequence of our actions.
I have been faced with a decision that I didn't want to make. I knew that I should do something that I didn't want to do. I have been sort of avoiding the issue for some time. However, someone else made a decision that impacted me very much. Their decision forced me to realize that I need to face my own fear and take action. I do not agree with the decision they made or the way they handled the situation they were in. However, in a strange sort of way, it has allowed me to better define my own situation.
I don't consider myself a very religious person. More spiritual, really, but even that's a little bit of a stretch, perhaps. In my own sort of non-religious way I do pray now and then. Recently, I have been praying and asking for a new path to be on. I was not happy with the path that I had been traveling, and have been trying to change it. So I asked to be shown a new path. I can very honestly say that I am on a whole new path now, because of the decision that was made by someone else. This isn't exactly the path I had in mind when I put in the request, but I can't deny that I've gotten what I asked for. (I suppose next time I'll remember to be a bit more specific.)
We make decisions every waking moment of the day. Whether they end up being good or bad, I think the more important factor is that we need to learn from our choices. We need to make a conscious effort to learn the most we can from each decision we make and the resulting situations. That's what truly determines whether a choice has been good or bad, I think. We will all still make choices that are not the best, and some we may regret, but if we learn and then make the choice not to make the same mistake again, our efforts are in some way worthwhile. Accept the decisions you make, allow them to make you happy, and appreciate the lessons you learn along the way. And don't screw up next time!
;)
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