Should I or Shouldn’t I?

“Whatever comes our way, whatever battles we face, we always have a choice.” Spider-Man learned that from his friend, Harry. When I heard it, I backed up the CD and listened again, just to be sure I had heard correctly. And I had! It reminded me of something I had written down in my Potential Blog Thoughts journal. I can’t honestly say how I came by it, but it too, is worthy of noting. In fact, it speaks directly to the lesson Spider-Man learned, only takes it one step further: There are 3 Cs in life: Choice, Chance and Change. You must make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change.

In my way of thinking, those 3 Cs have a positive ring to them. Not the happy-ever-after kind of ending; rather, one that builds and molds one’s character. But, of course, it would be foolish of me to think that was the only way making choices and taking chances will end up. We all know—if not, have heard of—people who have made choices and their lives have changed, but not always for the better. That has to be acknowledged, although not remain the focus, or this blog would be a waste of time for you and for me.

If we stop for a moment and think of the past week, we can’t help but agree that it was full of choices…some difficult, but necessary, others easy because we had determined we would benefit from them. We might have chosen to make a phone call or write a letter that would mend bridges and heal a relationship (an email is okay, but not nearly as personal). We might have decided to eat better, go on a diet or start an exercise regime…all good choices that could result in a positive change in our health and well-being. But, when we initially considered the choice, it’s possible we were faced with a dilemma: Do we take a chance that the letter or phone call will be rejected, that we will get tired of an exercise program and quit, or worse yet, fail? Did we choose to let those possibilities deter us? Or, did we put our head down, swallow a determination pill and choose to look ahead to a positive change?

Once again, we made a choice.

What about the week ahead? For some it’s back to school, with the routine, the rules and the expectations. For others, it’s back to the real world after a mini sabbatical in God’s country (as in my case!). Still others look at the week ahead and write a to-do list, then plan, speculate and move into it with a tedious Monday-morning mindset. No matter what hole we plug into, I’m quite sure that there will be choices made that will have a direct affect on our future, be it immediate or somewhere in the distance…and those choices will be cloaked with the should I or shouldn’t I syndrome.

Certainly, by the world’s standard of importance, most of our choices will be small and insignificant; yet, they can—most likely, will—have an affect on our lives, one way or another. The bottom line: What we choose to do (or not do), when we choose to take a chance (or not), determines the end result: a potential change.

Oh…and Spider-Man learned another lesson that we can capitalize on: whatever he chose would make him greater for having chosen right or make him regret for having chosen wrong.

Hmmm…

Funny what we can learn from a fantasy movie!