Choices
“Left Turn or Right Turn?!” Oh! Gosh! I just can’t make up my mind! Maybe it’s left, or no, hang on, it’s not…”
Choice
One word that makes all the difference in the world, Right from the time we are born, to the moment we breathe our last breath, we are making choices, some conscious and most unconscious.
We make choices regarding the friends we have our lunch with, the friends with whom we sit in a lecture, the people we choose to work with, the loved ones we choose to live with, the doctor we choose to treat us, the banker we choose to bank with, the book we choose to read, the movie we choose to see and so on and so forth.
So what’s new? We all do this, day in and day out. The point is, why and how do we choose.
Typically, every person has their own rationale behind their choices. The rationale could be different for some circumstances and it could be the same for all. Most would agree, and rightly so, that those whose rationale is different for different circumstances are “hyprocrites” or “opportunists”.
I am going to try and establish a certain foundation to make the right choices, i.e. right for you.
We are individuals, we are born into this world as one and even though we live with people, family and loved ones, we still retain our individuality.
However, living in the society, we tend to try and obscure this fact, in an attempt to bring people together.
For example, I want to pursue a career in dance, but the people around me, my parents, relatives and friends dissuade me from it. They say there is no future, there is no respect, and then I end up choosing a third career which I wasn’t inclined towards in the first place. In other words, I settle for the second best.
Careers, Lovers, Friends, Decisions, Negotiations, these are all based on choices.
The smart ones, make up their mind, know why they want a particular thing and guide the people around them to agree to their perspective. The people think it’s their choice that the person has agreed to, whereas all along he’s had his mind made up already.
There was a ground-breaking book that I had read, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. This book clearly states why we must make the choices we should. She has called her philosophy, Objectivism.
Let me explain with the help of an example, A doctor operating a patient, has to make a choice while cutting a nerve, one would be right – patient survives, one would be wrong – patient dies. A very clear black-and-white distinction between right and wrong.
Similarly, we must strive to make our choices as clear.
Do what you want to do, understand why you want to do it. The more the reason has to do with you, the more it is right. The more the reason has to do with others, the more it is wrong.
Do what makes you feel good. Somehow, there’s been a consorted view about happiness where feeling happy is equalled to something wrong. I have never known something sadder than this.
Do something that has a reason behind it. Doing a job because XYZ said so, has no value for you at the end of the day. Pursuing a course because the world is pursuing it, is the wrong reason to pursue it. Pursue it because you like the module, pursue it because it appeals to your intellect, do it because that’s what YOU want to do.
Another book, titled Shantaram written by Gregory David Roberts, had an interesting character who was a mafia don. I like one of his lines, “So often, we do the right things for the wrong reasons” Such an eloquent line!
At the end of the day, it’s not just a choice, it’s the ability and desire to accept responsibility for the success or failure of the choice. Remember Kareena Kapoor’s dialogue in the movie, Jab We Met, where she says that she doesn’t want to blame anyone for her choices? That’s the kind of attitude that wins in the end.
Parents want to make choices for their children, because they feel the children are not capable to take the responsibility that goes with the choice. This is a circle and the only way to break it is to prove yourself. Go out, find out for yourself, take your decision and live up to it. You could take the example of Hrithik Roshan in Lakshya, for this point.
To conclude, I’ll leave you with this quote,
“Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself.” - Robert F. Bennett
“Left Turn or Right Turn?!” Oh! Gosh! I just can’t make up my mind! Maybe it’s left, or no, hang on, it’s not…”
Choice
One word that makes all the difference in the world, Right from the time we are born, to the moment we breathe our last breath, we are making choices, some conscious and most unconscious.
We make choices regarding the friends we have our lunch with, the friends with whom we sit in a lecture, the people we choose to work with, the loved ones we choose to live with, the doctor we choose to treat us, the banker we choose to bank with, the book we choose to read, the movie we choose to see and so on and so forth.
So what’s new? We all do this, day in and day out. The point is, why and how do we choose.
Typically, every person has their own rationale behind their choices. The rationale could be different for some circumstances and it could be the same for all. Most would agree, and rightly so, that those whose rationale is different for different circumstances are “hyprocrites” or “opportunists”.
I am going to try and establish a certain foundation to make the right choices, i.e. right for you.
We are individuals, we are born into this world as one and even though we live with people, family and loved ones, we still retain our individuality.
However, living in the society, we tend to try and obscure this fact, in an attempt to bring people together.
For example, I want to pursue a career in dance, but the people around me, my parents, relatives and friends dissuade me from it. They say there is no future, there is no respect, and then I end up choosing a third career which I wasn’t inclined towards in the first place. In other words, I settle for the second best.
Careers, Lovers, Friends, Decisions, Negotiations, these are all based on choices.
The smart ones, make up their mind, know why they want a particular thing and guide the people around them to agree to their perspective. The people think it’s their choice that the person has agreed to, whereas all along he’s had his mind made up already.
There was a ground-breaking book that I had read, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. This book clearly states why we must make the choices we should. She has called her philosophy, Objectivism.
Let me explain with the help of an example, A doctor operating a patient, has to make a choice while cutting a nerve, one would be right – patient survives, one would be wrong – patient dies. A very clear black-and-white distinction between right and wrong.
Similarly, we must strive to make our choices as clear.
Do what you want to do, understand why you want to do it. The more the reason has to do with you, the more it is right. The more the reason has to do with others, the more it is wrong.
Do what makes you feel good. Somehow, there’s been a consorted view about happiness where feeling happy is equalled to something wrong. I have never known something sadder than this.
Do something that has a reason behind it. Doing a job because XYZ said so, has no value for you at the end of the day. Pursuing a course because the world is pursuing it, is the wrong reason to pursue it. Pursue it because you like the module, pursue it because it appeals to your intellect, do it because that’s what YOU want to do.
Another book, titled Shantaram written by Gregory David Roberts, had an interesting character who was a mafia don. I like one of his lines, “So often, we do the right things for the wrong reasons” Such an eloquent line!
At the end of the day, it’s not just a choice, it’s the ability and desire to accept responsibility for the success or failure of the choice. Remember Kareena Kapoor’s dialogue in the movie, Jab We Met, where she says that she doesn’t want to blame anyone for her choices? That’s the kind of attitude that wins in the end.
Parents want to make choices for their children, because they feel the children are not capable to take the responsibility that goes with the choice. This is a circle and the only way to break it is to prove yourself. Go out, find out for yourself, take your decision and live up to it. You could take the example of Hrithik Roshan in Lakshya, for this point.
To conclude, I’ll leave you with this quote,
“Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself.” - Robert F. Bennett
Comments
Great flow of thought and choice of words ... but I am not too sure if the pearls of wisdom that sparkle in the post directly result from real life experieces considering your age...
I enjoyed reading the post !!!
the experiences are my own.. i don't think age has much to do with experiences anyway!
enjoy!
true, there are so many things we don't have a control on, and yet these things make an impact on our lives.
:) many-a-time, people who have the talents and the skill sets are afraid to leap.. reminds me of myself.. preferring to stay in my comfort zone without stretching myself to achieve greater heights.