Member-only story
Choose When You Get to Choose
You get to decide to choose — or not — when faced with a choice.
For the longest time, I was really good at deciding not to decide.
I would stand with a choice before me — and overthink the crap out of it. I’d explore every possible “what if?” scenario, fear getting my choice wrong and having to suffer due to that — until the choice was no longer mine to make.
Opportunities passed me by. Things happened outside of my control despite my having had the choice to be in control — but not taking it. I crowned myself the King of Indecision for almost 2 decades.
I learned a lot from that time in my life. And despite frequently deciding not to decide — I had some interesting life experiences both good and bad.
But I was frequently left wanting. I constantly lamented not living to my potential, half-assing my way through things, and always felt lacking.
Not choosing is a choice. And many people live that choice all the time. Why? Because they don’t think they can choose. Or rather, they don’t think they can choose correctly without suffering if they choose poorly.
The disempowering messages of advertising; business, religious and political leaders; and the like cause us to see lack, scarcity, and limitations…
