I recently took a job close to home, and I chose it over a job offer in another state.\u00a0 Both jobs seemed like they\u2019d be a good fit, and believe me I weighed the pros and cons of each; I literally almost just flipped a coin to decide.\u00a0 My problem is, now that I made my choice I am plagued by thoughts that maybe it was the wrong one, that I am missing out on a totally different life that I might enjoy even more.\u00a0 Is that insane?\u00a0 How do I know I made the right choice, and if that\u2019s not possible to know, how do I make peace with the one I made??<\/i><\/p>\n
Frank, Pennsylvania<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Ah decisions, decisions.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you, Frank, but to me the worst part about making the \u201cwrong\u201d decision is that I am the one who makes it, the responsibility falls on me.\u00a0 But then, nearly in the same instant sometimes, I remember that because the responsibility falls on me, there is no such thing as a \u201cwrong\u201d decision.\u00a0 In other words, you make a choice and then you make that choice the \u201cright\u201d choice.\u00a0 You are the one who gives meaning to it, you are the one who creates what your experience is.<\/p>\n
You see, we can\u2019t lose at this game of life, Frank, not really.\u00a0 That\u2019s because we\u2019re making it all up.\u00a0 Events show up in our lives and we are all at choice as to how we want to experience those events, where we want to place our focus and attention.\u00a0 It\u2019s the same with a choice we have already made \u2013 the event has happened and now we get to decide how we want to experience it, how we wish to view that choice.\u00a0 And if I may, why on earth would we choose to view something as the \u201cwrong\u201d choice, full of regret, resentment, and feeling bad about ourselves, when we can just as easily say that this was a fantastic choice and feel great about ourselves?<\/p>\n
As for the curiosity over what taking that other job would\u2019ve meant for your life, well, make that up too.\u00a0 Give it meaning and proceed with your life from there.\u00a0 Our brains, our bodies even, respond to what we think.\u00a0 And furthermore, our minds don\u2019t know the difference between memory, imagination, and \u201creality\u201d; it will produce the same chemical reactions and physiological responses no matter what.\u00a0 So again I say, why not make up (a.k.a. giving meaning to) something that feels good?<\/p>\n
And if by chance we decide that something was the \u201cwrong\u201d choice, remember this: opportunities in life are endless, literally endless.\u00a0 There are more combinations of the elements and stuff of life than our minds could ever comprehend, there will always be something else available for you.\u00a0 Strive to keep your attention on the good, on gratitude and possibility and love as much as you can and your awareness of those opportunities will increase.<\/p>\n
So go ahead and take a deep breath, Frank.\u00a0 Stop telling yourself you made the wrong choice and start telling yourself you made the right one.\u00a0 Give meaning to taking this job closer to home, and come from a place of what you want to say about it, with you as the authority on the matter.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n