Are You in the ICU??

Have I made the wrong choice? 

Maybe I shouldn’t have tried this in the first place.

What was I thinking?

Oh God, what have I done??

The above lines don’t represent an epiphany; rather they are the expression of doubt by a friend of mine on her choice of clothes she had just bought from the mall. This was a few years back. 

Why have I brought this topic up now? 

Good Question. Read on and you’ll find out.

Knowing her, she must have spent hours shopping “diligently”, tried everything twice, almost taught a crash course to other customers on “how to bargain”, and asserted herself as the regular customer of the shop even though she had been there for the first time. Now let me switch to another friend of mine. He did a thorough research on the best colleges in Delhi for under-grad course in Commerce, prepared an entire checklist, pros & cons analysis, eventually made a choice, and now 10 months and 12 days later, is questioning his choice of college. He is getting good grades, hasn’t got a “back” yet, is a member of a few societies, and to top it all, has a girlfriend! Still, somehow he manages to be cynical of his choice every other day. 

What do you make of the above two accounts? Maybe you think how silly they are being or maybe, you can somehow relate to them in some sense. If you fall in the latter category, I can understand your point, because I have been in those places, and being there, I can also say that, my friend, you’re in the ICU, if you question your choices vehemently, after making them. I found a line in a movie I watched sometime back to be really true, it was “We are nothing but the sum total of our experiences.” You replace the last word with choices, and it still makes great sense. We humans have a tendency to ponder a lot before making crucial decisions, and question our choice after making that decision. Yes, you should think, that’s why God gave you brain (or so he must have thought), but when you over-think, you do nothing other than straining that little thing in your head. 

I wasn’t really having too high expectations from my impending college life, and the cut-offs made sure I wasn’t going to be a part of the so called “On-Campus” colleges under Delhi University. I got admission in some other “Off-Campus” college instead, did think about migrating two semesters later but then stopped thinking and began enjoying the life away from the campus. And now when I look back, I’m happy with the years that I spent there and don’t have any regrets. Now in an MBA college, I see some of my fellows thinking on the same lines, and that’s why I know what’s going in their mind, and that’s why I think their mind is in the ICU. 

Yes, everyone wants the best for themselves, but remember, only a small fraction get the best, the rest make the best of themselves from what they have. I have a small question for you all. Did you enjoy your school years? Hoping that you say yes, now ask yourself another question. Did you make a decision regarding the choice of school? No, but you came out enriched, having made many friends, and the memories bring back a smile on your face. So when a decision you had no say in turned out so good for you, think about how good a decision which is based on your choice can do for you. And it applies to everything. Be it as trivial as choice of clothes to be bought from a mall or as important as deciding upon a MBA college. So what if some choices don't turn out the way we expected? Learn and move on. That's life. While running, you don’t keep turning back to see how far you’ve come, because you know you have to look ahead for that. Life is like that only. If we keep looking back after every choice we make, our mind may well need some INTENSIVE CARE. Hopefully, we won’t let that happen.

Until next time...
Take Care :)