Crossroads

If I were a poet, I'd come up with something brilliant on paper to describe the process of making decisions.  We make them all the time, some are made unconsciously, but others press on our minds frequently, requiring a little more attention and effort.  If you were to choose the five most important decisions you've made in your life thus far, I wonder what they would be.  I wonder which I would choose for myself.  Deciding to serve a mission?  It's most likely on the list.  Altering my dream of pursuing medicine to become an art historian instead?  Surprisingly enough, I think this makes the list as well.  There are hundreds to choose from - thousands even - that have carved out the path I find myself on.  I guess decisions have been on my mind lately.  It sure is interesting to think about the actual process of making a decision.  Obviously it's different for each person, which is fascinating to think about.  What and who influences their decision-making, and in what capacity?  So many questions!!!  Rarely does a decision affect only the decision-maker, which is why it's so interesting to observe this process in others.  Your decision today could affect mine tomorrow, and vice versa.  What a pleasantly complex world we live in!  Since I'm not a poet, I'll borrow the words of others, some of which highlight what I'm thinking/feeling/pursuing/wondering/considering/questioning/etc. and potentially influencing what I decide to do and how to do it:

"You are now at a crossroads.  This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make.  Forget your past.  Who are you now?  Who have you decided you really are now?  Don't think about who you have been.  Who are you now?  Who have you decided to become?  Make this decision consciously.  Make it carefully.  Make it powerfully."  --Anthony Robbins

"Unless your heart, your soul, and your whole being are behind every decision you make, the words from your mouth will be empty, and each action will be meaningless.  Truth and confidence are the roots of happiness."  --Anonymous

"I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude.  It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.  Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress.  It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope.  When my attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me."  --Charles R. Swindoll

"When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not.  Disagreement, at this stage, stimulates me.  But once a decision has been made, the debate ends.  From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own."  --Colin Powell

I like these quotes a lot.  One reason for that is coming to understand how much I appreciate and respect people who are decisive.  Once the solution is figured out, it is carried out.  I like that - a lot.  And the funny thing is, at least for me, I usually know from day one exactly what my decision will be.  Yet I still spin numerous options around and around seeing if anything else even comes close to what I know I'm going to do.  Not sure why that is, but I think it's getting easier to trust my initial instincts as I get to know myself better, and feel comfortable with who I really am.  I'm smiling inside as I'm writing this because circumstances are falling into place that prove the decisions I'm currently making have, in fact, already been made.  Now it's time to carry them out.