Hard Choices, Easy Choices

Photo by Oliver Roos on Unsplash

I don’t know if there’s a single maxim by which we should live our lives. Life’s too complex for that, but there’s probably a few that are useful.

I do know that, in general, any advice that encourages us to think before we make a life choice is likely to be on point. I came across one such maxim recently:

“Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.”

It’s not dissimilar to my personal favorite of all time - you’re better off being scared than bored.

Both force us to push ourselves. Both encourage the unknown and the adventure versus the tried and true. Both result in real, meaningful learning. 

Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean “success” in the immediate term. The fact that we’re making hard choices, or being anxious about the new thing we’re taking on, suggests that it’s a challenge, and that we don’t already know our way. That’s exactly the point.

But with enough thoughtful work, enough intelligent effort, that success will certainly come. And it’s a success that is fundamentally more satisfying, and allows one to ultimately have an ‘easier’ life (however you choose to define that).

But, of course, the easy choice is alluring. 

It’s easy to not take on that additional role. It’s easy to not make yourself vulnerable to your peers. It’s easy to veg out in front of the TV and watch Netflix night after night. 

Those are the easy choices - and they get us nowhere. In those instances, there’s no point in opining about ‘what could have been’. We chose those outcomes (and remember, we always own our outcomes).  

Better, instead, to take it on headfirst, with equal parts courage, fear, anxiousness and intent. 

Then, we’re getting somewhere.