"You always have a choice" - said my Economics professor. He continued, "it is your choice to live, to breathe, to love, to work...every step you take is out of a choice you make." I brushed this statement aside - considering it an eccentric man's view on life.
It wasn't a simple concept to comprehend - a lot of us, in the classroom, questioned the possibility of a person being in control all the time. Collective brashness, along with arrogance-due-to-ignorance - the group failed to distinguish between choices and wishes. It didn't occur to us that a choice is made between options available - whereas we may wish for the improbable as well...something all of us have learnt since.
Over time, as I experienced life - I derived my own meaning for professor's words "You always have a choice". I think it is really quite basic, it is the starting point: every situation has at least two possible actions - either something is done about that situation or nothing is done about it! Which option to pick is our choice...
Our minds are tuned to ignore the latter choice all together. We are so caught up with the former that we can't even compare outcome of following the "do nothing" choice, with worry of "what to do". We tend to forget that we actually chose to do something about the situation facing us, because we wouldn't be better off doing nothing. The statement that's heard quite often - "I have no choice", truly means, I have no better options than the one I have decided to take up.
Even though I don't remember much of economics, but this life lesson has remained with me ever since. For me, this is not merely a thought - it is a life philosophy. If understood and followed, one begins to look at things objectively, looks within before seeking answers outside, takes fewer knee-jerk decisions and becomes self assured as the feeling of helplessness vanishes.
It wasn't a simple concept to comprehend - a lot of us, in the classroom, questioned the possibility of a person being in control all the time. Collective brashness, along with arrogance-due-to-ignorance - the group failed to distinguish between choices and wishes. It didn't occur to us that a choice is made between options available - whereas we may wish for the improbable as well...something all of us have learnt since.
Over time, as I experienced life - I derived my own meaning for professor's words "You always have a choice". I think it is really quite basic, it is the starting point: every situation has at least two possible actions - either something is done about that situation or nothing is done about it! Which option to pick is our choice...
Our minds are tuned to ignore the latter choice all together. We are so caught up with the former that we can't even compare outcome of following the "do nothing" choice, with worry of "what to do". We tend to forget that we actually chose to do something about the situation facing us, because we wouldn't be better off doing nothing. The statement that's heard quite often - "I have no choice", truly means, I have no better options than the one I have decided to take up.
Even though I don't remember much of economics, but this life lesson has remained with me ever since. For me, this is not merely a thought - it is a life philosophy. If understood and followed, one begins to look at things objectively, looks within before seeking answers outside, takes fewer knee-jerk decisions and becomes self assured as the feeling of helplessness vanishes.
No comments:
Post a Comment