Forks in the Road

"Most people fail in the art of living not because they are inherently bad or so without will that they cannot lead a better life; they fail because they do not wake up and see when they stand at a fork in the road and have to decide. They are not aware when life asks them a question, and when they still have alternative answers. Then with each step along the wrong road it becomes increasingly difficult for them to admit that they are on the wrong road, often only because they have to admit that they must go back to the first wrong turn, and must accept the fact that they wasted energy and time." -Erich Fromm

These past couple of months have been daily decision's at forks in the road.  There is a component of fear and anxiety that is consistent without the foreknowledge of how those decisions will turn out.  That truth of 'we are not aware' is so true.  We are people capable of great self-deception.  What we 'feel', our life experiences, our tinted-sunglasses that offer us a perception that leads us to one path or another isn't necessarily the same as a tried and true map. 

That ability to go back and admit that we are on the wrong road involves a humility that many of us do not posses.  It requires a light to shine brightly on the path so that we can see all the dangers.  Even with the light we can stick our head in the sand, close our eyes, and stubbornly keep on pressing forward.  This happens in our personal lives, our business lives, and it does affect not only ourselves but those around us.

Each of us has that 'fork in the road' choice.  A brief moment in time where we need to choose right/left, up/down, right/wrong and sometimes that 'moment'  isn't as clear and defined as we would like.  I recently saw an article that had several quotes on the choices we make in life.  Several of them were great to pull out, review the fork in the road and to humbly say..."My bad - I made the wrong choice".  Only we have the power to do that in our own lives. 

Because the quotes really sparked my interest I wanted to most definitely share them here with you.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Please feel free to add your own choice quote or to share which of the quotes impacted you the most.  SW

Dr. Shad Helmstetter’s book titled “Choices.” 

1 – “No one else can ever make your choices for you. Your choices are yours alone. They are as much a part of you as every breath you will take, every moment of your life.”

2 – “You may think that in life,a lot of things happen to you along the way. The truth is, in life, you happen to a lot of things along the way.”

3 – “Choosing to live your life by your own choice is the greatest freedom you will ever have.”

4 – “It is only when you exercise your right to choose that you can also exercise your right to change.”

5 – “It is your programming that has created your choices in the past. It is the choices you make today that are creating the programs of your future.”

6 – “If you were given only one choice: To choose or not to choose, which would you choose?”

7 – “The choices we make by accident are just as important as the choices we make by design.”

8 – “Another person’s choice is nothing more than another alternative for you to consider.”

9 – “There is no life as complete as the life that is lived by choice.”

10 – “There may be a thousand little choices in a day. All of them count.”

11 – “Whatever you choose, you  might as well enjoy it. It is your choice.”

12 – “When you have a problem,make a choice…you’ll feel better.”

13 – “If you’d like to know what your choices have been, look at yourself and the life you have lived. What you see is the choices you have made.”

14 – “Who knows what you could accomplish in life if you made more of the right choices along the way?”

15 – “Some people choose to live by complaining. Other people choose to live.”

16 – “You cannot manage your life if you do not manage your self. You cannot manage your self if you do not manage your choices. Manage your choices, and you will manage your life.”

17 – “Learning what to choose,and how to choose, may be the most important education you will ever receive.”

18 – “The choices we make in the heat of emotion would be better if left for some other day.”

21 – “It is the big choices we make that set our direction. It is the smallest choices we make that get us to the destination.”

22 – “Each day that passes, your choices will come and go. They are like diamonds in a chest of jewels, each waiting to be discovered.”

23 – “Those who choose to succeed always do better than those who never choose at all.”

24 – “The highest levels are most certainly filled with those who chose to be there.”

25 – “If you have to take time to make a choice, take time. Then make the choice.”

26 – “The end result of your life here on earth will always be the sum total of the choices you made while you were here.”



Life: The Big Picture

Life is all about perception. What one person sees as reality may be completely different from what another person in the same situation may see. It all depends on how our individual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors shape our world. If we could only take a step back and look, I mean really look, at how we react to situations and interact with other people, we would learn so much about ourselves. It is in this self-awareness that we ultimately find happiness, living life in the "big picture."

It's common knowledge around here that I am looking to head to a different city and state to be with  my family.  It's been a year since I moved my mother and all of my possessions 1/2 way across the country.  It's been 4 months since I've actively been pursuing job leads and submitting resume after resume.  

There is of course that temptation to look at this one small facet of my life and think no-one is hiring, no-one wants to pay me what I'm worth, no-one wants to hire someone from out of town when they can hire someone right now.  The list can go on and on for days and days and my perspective can become one of negativity, self-doubt and blame.  

As mentioned above, life is ALL about perception.  If this is how I am going to perceive my life, the sum total of everything I have done and worked for then that perspective, that attitude is shaping my world AND not for the better. 

My life is my choice.  Can I choose whether or not someone hires me? No, but I can choose to learn and change from the experience and I can respect the fact that we may not be the right fit at the right time.   

In any situation I can choose to step back and see the big picture.  I can ask questions, I can share experiences and knowledge, and I can respect the decisions of those who had to make a tough choice.  My other choices include sitting back and blaming others, criticizing the process, and denying that there isn't something I can be learning and growing into as a result of this job search.


I am choosing to live Above The Line.  I am choosing to live life in the Big Picture.  I am choosing to be grateful for a fantastic job that allows me to work while job searching and supporting my desire to be closer to my family.  I choose to always be looking just around the corner for the right job at the right time who needs the right person (ME) and that it will happen at the right time.

How about you?  Are you living above the line?  Are you taking each experience and choosing to see it in a positive and helpful manner?  Are you living life to the full and seeing the Big Picture?
I hope you really can.  I hope we both really can continue to make changes and choices based on the big picture and not just our perspective in the moment.