We aren’t discussing today the road less traveled–that would be the more difficult path or the more individual path, the one that not everyone takes, only a select few. No, we are discussing the path not taken–the road which you chose not to take. We are faced with many, many decisions in our lifetime and the choices not made become the path not taken.
When you come across a rough patch along your journey, do you find yourself wondering “What if I had made a different decision all those years ago?” What if I had taken that bit of advise (or not taken that advise). What if I had turned here instead of there? What if I met a person at a different point in my journey? This creates a rabbit hole of unfathomable depths. Do you understand how each of our decisions and choices BECOME our journey?! Just simply dipping a toe into this hole can cause extreme regret.
At some point we need to realize that we are who we are. We consciously made these decisions to put us on this path. We are where we are for a reason. And that reason was chosen by each of us. Some of us are living with deep regret already. And some of us will constantly ask ourselves, “Why is this happening to me?” We need to realize our current state has been long ago decided upon–probably by ONE singular choice or decision, no matter how difficult that decision was. That choice put you where you are now.
And when you want to blame others or particular sets of rules or obligations for your current situation, stop and think back on all of those decisions you made in the past. You did this, you put yourself here. We always have a choice–we may not always make the best choice (sometimes we don’t take advice when we should), but we have a choice. It’s not always an easy choice, and sometimes the choice is obvious. The choice may also be forced upon us, but it’s still a choice.
But made no mistake, there is no backing out of this path you’ve put yourself on. You cannot go back and change your decision–this is what you are forced to live with. The path forward and your future decisions though, they are still up to you. Use your past choices, your past failures, your past victories, to shape your future choices. You may not be able to back out of your current path, but you sure as hell can blaze a new one in a completely different direction! So, if you are unhappy with your current situation, don’t dwell on the past or what ifs, take control of your next steps! Make good choices people!!