There are times in our lives when we have choices to make - choices that might seem perplexing and difficult. We may have to make a choice between what will bring us wealth, fame or admiration and a choice that will bring us inner satisfaction and heartfelt happiness. How do we make these decisions?
The decisions we make determine how our futures unfold. We decide who we will be friends with, where we will attend college, what we will do for work, who we will have relationships with, whether or not we marry, whether or not we have children and where we will live. These decisions will impact ourselves, our families, our friends, our communities and sometimes the world.
After a ten year career as a social worker and training coordinator, I decided to start my own business as a teacher and consultant. I was advised to consider whether I wanted to teach one or two subjects and travel extensively, or teach many subjects and work within a radius of my home town. I had to choose between creating one "teaching package" and travel to new and different locations or continually create "teaching modules" to offer to agencies within commuting distance from my home.
I was torn between a situation that would be: less labor intensive, more exciting and give me an opportunity to travel; and a situation that would be more labor intensive and family friendly. At that time, my two sons were quite young and I knew, in my heart, that extensive traveling would create a distance from them that I was not ready to experience. I chose the second situation and experienced the happiness that comes from working close to home.
Now my sons are adults - one is an attorney in New York, the other is working on his doctorate in higher education in the Midwestern region of the United States. They have chosen careers and made decisions to leave their home town. Although I would love to see them more often than I do, I am happy they are following their dreams. And I am happy I made the decision to work close to home when they were young boys.
I have made other decisions in my life that have required me to consider whether to follow logic, materialism, or other people's expectations and I have never regretted making those decisions on the basis of following my heart. By following my heart, my decisions have brought me happiness.
