It irritates me that decisions have to be made without realising the consequences of those choices. Life would be a whole lot more easy, although a lot more boring, if we could see all possible consequences of the decisions we make. Of course this holds less for the more simple decisions we make. If I decide to kick a tree bare foot, I've accepted the consequence of having a fair amount of pain and a splinter or two in my foot. However, if I decide that the happiness gained by kicking the tree is greater than the pain I will experience, I will kick the tree, even though some others might not agree with me. This reasoning also applies to me running two marathons in quick succession. It's guaranteed that this is going to be the most unpleasant activity that I can go through physically, but the happiness gained from achieving a goal will far outweigh the pain. In many ways this is how I tend to make decisions that affect my current and future happiness.
However, going through the process of pitching the idea of running a marathon, let alone two, to others, I became more aware that people give the reason for not going through with it as that I would be happier if I make a different choice. Thinking back, the same thing occurs throughout the choices you make or the situations you face while living your life, and it pisses me off that people presume that their choice or advice is best for your happiness. I make the choices, with the cards I'm dealt, that make me happy and its frustrating to feel that others have taken that choice away from you by saying that certain things are best for you. Whether the choices I make involves education decisions, weekend plans, summer plans, relationship ideas or career choices, the primary person affected by the choice I make is myself. Although I am the type of person that thinks a lot on how my choice will affect others (not always a bad thing), the person most affected by my decision is me, and the decisions I make are the ones that make me happy, and should not be doubted when it comes to their intention. From this perspective the decisions made by others, that involve me, should be based on their own happiness and not on mine, and not presume that their choice will make me any more or less happy or let me not miss out on something.
So far my choices haven't backfired on me yet, there is no choice that I have huge regrets about. Additionally, I have no doubt that my choice to train for and run two marathons this year will not be a choice I will live to regret. My succes in decision-making can be shown through one clear example: I have yet to kick a tree.
However, going through the process of pitching the idea of running a marathon, let alone two, to others, I became more aware that people give the reason for not going through with it as that I would be happier if I make a different choice. Thinking back, the same thing occurs throughout the choices you make or the situations you face while living your life, and it pisses me off that people presume that their choice or advice is best for your happiness. I make the choices, with the cards I'm dealt, that make me happy and its frustrating to feel that others have taken that choice away from you by saying that certain things are best for you. Whether the choices I make involves education decisions, weekend plans, summer plans, relationship ideas or career choices, the primary person affected by the choice I make is myself. Although I am the type of person that thinks a lot on how my choice will affect others (not always a bad thing), the person most affected by my decision is me, and the decisions I make are the ones that make me happy, and should not be doubted when it comes to their intention. From this perspective the decisions made by others, that involve me, should be based on their own happiness and not on mine, and not presume that their choice will make me any more or less happy or let me not miss out on something.
So far my choices haven't backfired on me yet, there is no choice that I have huge regrets about. Additionally, I have no doubt that my choice to train for and run two marathons this year will not be a choice I will live to regret. My succes in decision-making can be shown through one clear example: I have yet to kick a tree.
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