It’s Up To You

Act 142:

“It’s never too late… To Make Your Own Decisions

Take advice. Seek information. Draw on others’ experience. Confirm your views. But make your own choices. Set your own course. Be responsible for your own life.” – Patrick Lindsay

Quote in book: “No decision is difficult to make if you will get all of the facts.” ~ General George S. Patton

At the end of the day, It’s your choice. You have to take responsibility for it. Only you can make it. And only you know if you can live with it. If it’s the wrong one, (that’s another topic), but you’re the one that’s gonna have to deal with the consequences.

This topic makes me think of my stance on relationships. No one knows what goes on between two people. Behind closed doors (and not in a sexual way). I mean… no one but the two people in the relationship REALLY knows what’s going on. Others can have an idea, based on their experiences, but not every situation is the same. An example of this is… no one else knows how your partner makes you feel. Nobody knows what you two whisper about in bed or talk about when you’re alone. No one else really knows what the relationship is like.

So, when you’re trying to get advice on whether to stay together or to break up from your friend… you have to take that w/ a grain of salt and make your own decisions about the relationship. I always tell my friends… that I can only give advice based on my experience and what I’ve been told. However, if you don’t give me all the info (which is most likely), it’s really up to you and how you feel. I can’t make the decision for you. I don’t know what it’s really like. I don’t know how much you love each other or how much you abuse each other. Are you really portraying reality? Most of the time we always make ourselves look better than we really are. And as your friend, I believe it. When we’re venting… we always make the other person look worse than they are.

So moving on to my decision making process. I have a really hard making up my mind about stuff. The other day I talked about changing your mind. I have a hard time picking out what clothes to wear or what food to eat. However, once I make a decision. I stick with it. It’s pretty hard to get me to change my mind. That is because I really really think about it and really weigh all the consequences and possible outcomes and make the best decision for me at the time w/ all the available information.

I attribute most of this to my mother. Growing up, she always taught us to look at the big picture. When we did something wrong, she always talked with us about what we did wrong and how we could do better next time. She was always trying to get us to better ourselves, by learning from our mistakes. Looking at our past experiences, past failures, past successes….helps us make our future decisions.

My advice is always make the decision that you can live with. I always go with my gut… My head helps me analyze the choices, but my gut really is the one that helps me decide (or my heart). I usually am happier when I go w/ my gut and my heart. No one can make your choices for you. You have to live with your decisions. Analyze the facts. Figure out what the outcomes and consequences will be and make the decision that is best for the situation. Sometimes it’s what’s best for you, but other times it’s what best for everyone involved (which ultimately is what’s best for you). But once you make up your mind, don’t be a flip flopper…. No Rubber Band Handing… =) haha