Things To Consider Today

Avoiding Regrets Through Wise Decisions

Over the years there have been many changes in the lives of my wife and I. We have lived in eight cities located in six states. We’ve owned many homes, raised several children, held different jobs, and participated in a variety of activities. Each year there were opportunities presented to us, challenges to meet, and problems to solve. We had many choices and at the time we did the best we could to make the wisest decision or select the best choice for ourselves and our children. Each decision represented another chance to stay the same or change something in our lives. Sometimes it was best to keep things as they were and usually we did this. Other times the best choice was to change something and often we did this. For any change we then had to decide the best way to do this. Every decision was affected not only on what happened in the past, but what was available at the time, and how we perceived the future. Ultimately it did affect our future. Each decision affected the overall path that we were following in life. It could lead us down a little or up a little. It could set us back some, or move us straight ahead. Over the years the accumulative effects of our decisions began to establish a track record for us. In simple terms this record can be visualized as an arrow moving from the left or past to the right or future, with some small ups and downs in the arrow’s general shape. Overall, our track record produced some success and some failure, some contentment and some regrets.

Your life is similar to ourselves and other people. As you walk down your road of life, there are many choices presented to you. These choices give you an opportunity to make decisions. Each decision allows you to keep things the same or change something in your life. You can go one way or another. Your decisions affect the pathway you follow as time goes by. Each additional decision is another consideration of choices and selecting the best one at that time. This will determine what you will do next and thereby affect your pathway. Previous decisions determined the pathway that you followed in the past, which have led up to the path you on today. All previous decisions will affect your next decision and thus the path that you will be on tomorrow.

It is important to note the specific decisions which have or may alter the pathway you walk on in life. Consider what would or could have happened in the past if you would have made different decisions. Maybe you would be living in a different home or in a different city now. You may be married to a different person or have more are less children. You may be making more are less money or working in an entirely different career. You may have better health or perhaps have been in an accident and be in a wheelchair now. Obviously you don’t have the real answers to these types of things. You only know what choices were presented to you and the decisions you made relative to those choices. After decisions were made, certain things began to happen or evolve in your life and the accumulative effect is where you stand today. The type of person you are, the relationships you have, your circumstances, and your track record of success and failure are like a scorecard on how well you handled decisions as they were made over the years.

Over time anyone is truly happier and usually far more successful if he’ll make good decisions along his pathway of life. And the reason for this is reinforcement. Good choices reinforce one another and increase the odds of more happiness and more success in the future. Likewise bad or negative choices will hinder you and can limit progress in some areas for years. For some choices you may never be able to reverse their consequences on you and anyone else affected by them. So you see, decisions and their resultant consequences on your pathway of life are serious business.

There are several things to recognize and do in order to make better decisions with the choices presented to you or the opportunities you have. First, do not presume that you are an exception to the rule while others must follow them. There are general guidelines for living that life will ultimately teach all of us if we are willing to learn. The challenge is to learn these things at an early age rather than an older age. Then apply them to the decisions you make.

Another thing to do is to learn from others. There are always others who have more knowledge, experience, and wisdom in a specific area then you do. Why not seek out such individuals out and learn from them? In this way you can avoid learning too many things the hard way based on your own experiences alone. This can cost you time, money, lost opportunities and even health. This is not smart living.

Have patience and do not be in a hurry to make important decisions. Gather all the information you can and evaluate it. Allow some time to go by so you are not reacting or acting in an emotional state of mind. Consult with others who are involved with you in the decision or who will be affected by the decision. The effects of it on them must be considered also.

Lookoversome of your decisions in the past. Which ones worked out well for you, and how can you make more such decisions in the future? Then consider decisions which in hindsight have left some regrets in your life. What will went wrong with each decision? Can you see certain types of decisions that are difficult for you to make correctly or wisely? Are there any patterns in the way you make decisions and the types of decisions which do and do not work out well for you? Use this input to improve your decision-making skills today.

Let perspective work in your favor. As the years go by you should have more perspective on the past to present and the future. Strive to do today things which seem logical and good and fair in the present, but will also produce good memories in the future rather than more regrets. Prospective can help you make far more right decisions and lead you down the best pathways for yourself.

If you made some wrong or bad decisions in the past which have a strong influence on your life today, do not lose hope. Everyone makes wrong decisions. You can begin today to overcome the negative consequences of past decisions. Consult with others. Select a strategy. Set realistic goals. Work consistently. Over time you can make reasonable improvements in your life and correct your direction or change the pathway you’re following.

Finally, take a careful look at the pathway map of your life. This is merely a diagram like I mentioned for my wife and I. It shows you walking down your road of life. At various times, choices were presented and a decision was made. What effect did that decision have on your pathway? Did it change your overall direction any? Later more choices and another decision is made. Over the years there will be many decisions and potential changes in direction on your chart. Each decision could alter your pathway in small or big ways. Ultimately all these changes explain why your pathway looks like it does. It literally became the pathway you traveled in life up to now. Your pathway should look like an arrow from left or the past to the right or the future, with many small ups and downs along the way. Only those with serious problems that increase over time will have a downward sloping arrow over the years. If you review the road you’ve traveled, you should be able to notice its characteristics.

What is the wisest road to follow for you as an individual and the circumstances you’re placed in during Earth life? In religious teachings there is an expression called walking “the straight and narrow”. Straight implies not deviating to the left nor right, which means not disobeying God’s commandments. Narrow implies that this pathway seems quite restrictive to most people. Yet if such a path way is followed, anyone will make more progress and be happier and have more peace of mind than by following any other pathway.

May you follow the straightest and most narrow path that you can in life in order to be happy and content with how you live. Hopefully, you will not have a pathway in life that is too crooked, with too many downs and not enough ups. You will move forward more than stand still or move backward. This would represent a tremendous waste of your time, talents, and energy. I challenge you to follow the most effective and efficient pathway during the remaining years of your life. If you make this decision today, you will never regret it in the future.

YOUR OPINION - Let us know if you liked this article, and whether you agree or disagree with it. Provide your comments here.

Click here to return to the top.

Copyright 2009 Leland Pulley