Monday, June 7, 2010

What Do You Want?


Have you ever gone to the ice cream store and had trouble choosing which flavour you want? Really, when they have dozens to chose from, how can it be an easy decision? Mint chocolate chip, vanilla, chocolate chunk, strawberry swirl, there are so many delicious options!

And, if it's so hard to chose an ice cream flavour, how is one supposed to make life decisions? How are we supposed to know what kind of career to pursue, where we want to live and who we want to be with? To some, this seems to fall into place but if you are like me, it's a constant blur.

You see, I think a lot of people find a job they are okay with, a house that is just a place to sleep and a spouse that they can tolerate. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I see this type of complacency all the time. Isn't there more to life than that?

Well, I don't know of there is be but I definitely think there should be. Is it really because it's so easy to settle or is it because, like at the ice cream store, so many people don't know what they want.

When I have no idea what I want, I just pick something and stick with it. That's not a big deal for an ice cream flavour or a week end plan; however, it's another ball game when you're dealing with life altering choices such as a boyfriend/spouse.

All of this blabber has to do with one of the million conclusions I have come to recently: many people do not know what they want so they just take something that comes along and seems okay and that's that. Complacency ensues and the fear of loneliness or never finding anything better sets in. What can one do to avoid this common trap? And, when you think about it, do you really know what you want?

1 comment:

  1. It's been said, the biggest question in life is "what do you want". Once you have that figured out, the rest is supposed to be easy.

    I've often found myself pondering this question. Sometimes just when I think I've assessed the options and decided what I want, more options appear, or I've taken so long deciding that my first choice is no longer available.

    I agree that we are complacent in our decision making process, but considering the number of decisions we have to make, each with their own exhausting variety of options, is it any wonder?

    You want a new bike? 50 years ago it was an easy choice. Today? You could spend six months researching and deciding, only to have manufacturers announce new spring models in November.

    How much time should we spend researching the options, weighing the merits of each option and assimilating the choices into our lives.

    Surely one can miss the point of experiencing (and hopefully enjoying) one's life when we allow ourselves to be surrounded and consumed by a tornado of decisions and options.

    I think this is a fairly new phenomenon brought on by world of unprecedented choices. For the most part it seems our parents and grandparents were able to effortlessly choose suitable partners, careers, places to live, names for their children, schools for their children, and shows to watch on TV. As a result, they also seem to have spent more time enjoying each other, their job, their houses and their children.

    Unfortunately today society seems to believe that greater happiness is achieved though greater choices. (After all, we are so much more unique and individual than our grandparents.) Chocolate, Vanilla and Stawberry might have been enough choice for our parents generation, but how could we be happy today with only three choices?

    I wonder how long it took our grandparents to buy the family groceries for the week. I bet it was 1/4 of the time we spend today. They only had to decide they would like some fresh fruit, if it was summer they were in luck and could choose from apples, pears or plums. If it was winter, well easy choice, no fruit!

    With regards to relationships, I am not for arranged marriages, but I think they may hold some merit. A hundred years ago on the prairies, young ladies might have had 10 suitors with-in a hundred miles. The choices were easier, and when times were tough, or people disagreed, they learned to communicate, empathize and swallow their pride. Why? Because they had no choice!

    Thanks for the blog Sky. I've found your blog very amusing and interesting. Good luck!

    Take care.

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