O Man! Be Wise to Choose the Tougher Option in Life, Always
“Your legacy is being written by yourself. Make the right decisions.”– Gary Vaynerchuk
My dear brothers and sisters, Namaste!
I welcome you.
May God bless you and your loved ones with days bright with laughter and lots of cheer.
In this essay, I’m urging you to opt for the tougher option, whenever you are faced with that choice in life.
My reasons are threefold. Let’s dive in right away.
Section I. It is incomparably more beneficial in the long run
“Choices are the hinges of destiny.”– Pythagoras
Suppose, after a long tiring day at the office, you’ve just returned home.
Now, say, you are faced with two choices about how to spend the next couple of hours before you go for your dinner:
- watching a Netflix thriller or,
- reading a book.
You’ll be a massive gainer should you choose the latter option.
Because reading will give you incomparably more benefits in the long run, though it is decidedly more difficult in the given context.
But, remember, if you choose to flop down on your living room sofa and start watching just another thriller on Netflix in your tab, then you will gain nothing during the hours spent…
…except maybe some low-value entertainment.
Result?
These hours will just vanish…!
You may not even remember after two days what you just watched now...!
On the other hand, if you choose to read a book (say, “Think and Grow Rich”), then those very hours will prove to be the key to uplifting your life.
…the wisdom contained in those pages will then propel you towards an upward course of personal growth.
And you’ll be a tremendous beneficiary of your wise choice in the long run.
Section II. It adds to your inward happiness
“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”– Tony Robbins
Let us consider the earlier scenario wherein you have just returned home from work after a tiring day.
Now, you have another set of choices.
You can either cast your vote in favour of:
- watching the Netflix thriller or,
- you can walk down to your neighbourhood gym
Now, hands down, the first option is a thousand times more alluring…!
It is far less taxing as well…!
Yet, again, I would urge you to choose the tougher option and walk to the gym instead.
Because a strange thing is likely to happen when you’re wise enough to choose working out over watching a movie.
After an hour of vigorous workout, you will find yourself far happier vis-à-vis two hours of watching a movie.
You will find joy and a quiet sense of fulfilment bubbling up from within you.
The reason is not far to seek.
In the gym, you will be an active doer.
You will be deciding…
…which exercises you will do today
…how many sets you will do for each of them
…how many repetitions you will do for each such set
…in which order you will do them
…whether you will do only ‘cardio’ or you’ll do ‘cardio + stretching’ or you will go the whole hog: ‘cardio + stretching + weight training’
…I think you get the idea.
Plus, the post-workout period will always see an upliftment in your mood due to the secretion of various hormones in your body.
The residue of this cheery mood will carry over into the rest of the evening and the next morning as well…!
All these factors will go a long way in building your happiness.
In movie watching, on the other hand, you will be reduced to a passive consumer who has to watch what he is shown.
You can switch from one movie to another but not much else.
Once the movie is on, you have to watch whatever damn thing the movie director has put in that movie.
The only other option will be to switch off your device.
In a nutshell,
In the gym, you are in the role of master.
But, in front of your tab/laptop, you are an abject slave chained to the toxin of digital media.
And surely a life of freedom is infinitely more joyful than that of slavery.
Section III. It helps in self-actualizing your God-given potential
“Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.”– Keri Russell
God has blessed each of us with unique talents in the form of potential in the seed form.
However, for that seed to become a full-fledged flower, it needs dedicated efforts from you over a prolonged period.
Hence, this course of action will always be much more difficult than that of leisurely indecision.
Thus, suppose, after returning from the office, you’re again faced with the choice:
- watching a Netflix movie or,
- practising music on your guitar
Assuming music to be your true passion in life, choosing the second option will bless you…
…and that’ll be the priceless blessing of a meaningful life in the long run.
But what will happen when you choose the easier but ultimately meaningless option of watching movies?
Let me be blunt here: wasting your time and hence by corollary, your life.
After all, time is life and life is time.
My Parting Message to You
“And in life, it is all about choices we make. And how the direction of our lives comes down to the choices we choose.” — Catherine Pulsifer
Choosing the more difficult option is thus fundamental to leading a fulfilled life.
That is the true “living” as opposed to just “existing”.
My dear brothers and sisters, therefore, I would humbly request you to exercise your God-given wisdom.
…and thus, make a wise choice in life when the time comes to do so.
Making a deliberate decision in favour of the path more difficult… the path less travelled…the path less popular is that very choice.
Your future self is going to bless you if you decide to do so.
Thanks for reading my thoughts.
