Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Choices and Effects

Everyday we are presented with choices. Most of the time, the choice is clear. Yes, I'll go to work or school today. No, I don't need to get gas today. Sure I'll donate a dollar at the checkout. I often wonder about the decisions we make that alters our life though.

When I was in middle school, I wanted to learn an instrument. I was personally dead set on violin. It ended up that we had a trumpet from when my dad and uncle were in band. I gave up my cause pretty early and took up the trumpet. From what I remember of that time, I hated it. I quit without even giving it a year.

What if I had pursued my interest and held out for a violin though? Would my life had been changed that drastically? Being so early in life, I think so. The friends I had would of changed to band and orchestra friends. I might of tried harder to keep up with friends in grades. This would of most likely led to college right after high school. Maybe my love of music would of come earlier in life and I would be following my dreams of performing or being a part of a major orchestra.

The choices you make shape your life. I don't feel you are stuck on a path that you don't want to walk. The only force that keeps you on that path is yourself. Make yourself wander into the forest of uncertainty every once in awhile. Break your routine to see how it feels and what comes of it. Introduce yourself to that stranger because they might be that secret millionaire.

And this is what happens when I think to myself "I wonder how different my life would of been if I played the violin?" Do you ever think "what if" and what is that moment you feel would of completely changed your life?

Quote: "As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given." -Mary Lou Retton

25 comments:

  1. Beautiful post. Really made me think.

    ReplyDelete
  2. im happy i picked up an instrument, really useful in expression and a good hobby

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thoughts too long on what if take us away from what could still be

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely post. I like to think that even my bad decisions have had a positive effect on my life, if only to put me through hard times so that I come out stronger. We can't know how things would have turned out if we'd chosen differently. Maybe if you'd stuck with violin, you would have ended up hating it anyway. Maybe if my husband and I hadn't chosen to move to LA, we would have ended up somewhere were life was easier, or maybe it would have been harder. The most we can do is try to make the decision that works best at that moment in our lives.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wouldn't change anything about my past because it got me where I am today, but I believe that even small choices could have completely altered it! I think many people live with the belief that they are stuck or will be. It can make decision making paralyzing. What if I choose to leave this job for the other one and it turns out that I hate it? So what! So you quit the other job and find a new one. We're never stuck. Fear keeps us that way though. It's easy to get comfortable and not step outside that comfort zone. GREAT post!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do that so much!!

    What if I studied hard for the midterm?

    What if she never had a miscarriage?

    What if I stayed?

    What if I was nicer?

    What if I said "yes"?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful deep thought process there and very up lifting. I've come to the conclusion we ask ourselves that question because we have yet to arrive at the place we need to be. Lord, did that make sense? :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post! Each choice definitely affects our future. And sometimes, or even a lot of times, our choices affect those around us. Thanks for posting this.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Glad you enjoyed it! More soon!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wonder about choices, too, sometimes a little too much. If I had done one little thing differently, would by life be a million times better? Or a million times worse?

    It can be paralyzing. But sometimes, you just have to go for it and remember if you don't like it, you can change later.

    Beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I read something not long ago from an author saying that if we pick something we love and choose to devote massive amounts of time to it, in time we'll become really good at it. Natural talent does have a part in it, but also it's where we devote our time every day.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a crazy random happenstance, I play violin. :3 I think you should give it a go now, it's never too late to start.
    But your post really does make me think.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an awesome post. Good stuff to remember about choices and making some too lightly.

    ReplyDelete
  14. As years go by, it saddens me this feeling I have where I can see how my window of opportunities and choices is getting smaller. :(

    ReplyDelete
  15. What an insightful post, it started me thinking about small choices I've made and how they changed the big picture.
    I think it's human nature to ask ourselves "what if".

    ReplyDelete
  16. what if the recession never happened? my entire LIFE would have been different.
    this post made me think of loads of other What If questions and how my life would be if things were ever so slightly different, such as: what if i wasn't sick and hadn't lost my voice today? there is SO much i wanted to say today but i couldn't. i think i could have left a completely different impression on people if i wasn't sick today.

    ReplyDelete
  17. True true! Hay, in middle school I played (or tried to play) the clarinet. Me & my girlfriends decided to join band. We ended up only staying for the first year & not signing up again! It was horrible. lol I'm just not very musical... except when I pretend to be lol.

    I do wonder what would've happened a lot when I think about how my life changed when I got sick, but thank God for it being over & me being able to start my life now!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ah the curious mind.

    Cool quote. Is she the Olympic Gold medal winner back in the 80-90's?

    ReplyDelete
  19. I actually try not to think too much about choices I make for fear of regretting them. I try to take life day by day and accept all outcomes of all choices. But very interesting post.

    ReplyDelete
  20. i think the "what if" is the most dangerous thing to a man, because it makes you doubt yourself, it has crossed my mind(i wont lie) but i always end up recalling what i did and why did i choose that answer, and if i could change it probably wouldnt anyway

    ReplyDelete
  21. In the multiverse all those possibilites exist.... we just need to find a way to cross the boundary

    ReplyDelete
  22. This is all I think about when I'm under the influence.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Exactly! It's easy to get stuck in a routine... sometimes you really have to give yourself a kick in the butt.
    Also: The Butterfly Effect.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I don't like what-if questions ~ unless it's to help my story! For my life, though, I try to live it without regret. When I was 30 I took ballet lessons because I had always wanted to, but never could. I wanted to know what it would feel like to wear a flowy little ballet skirt and move my body in such graceful arcs.

    Yeah, well. It was fun while it lasted! At least I can say I did it. And it was a wonderful experience. That's how I came to be a writer. It was one of things that "had always wanted to do", and so ... I did it.

    Now I try to live life with no regrets, and try to teach my children the same. We're all dreamers ~ but it is possible to be a dreamer AND a doer!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on my, well, thoughts.