Recently while I was returning to Delhi, the co-traveler was regretting the struggle he has to undergo in his married life. Interestingly, it was a marriage with a girl of his choice!
In another instance, my neighbors’ son was cursing himself for having joined an organization which is not professional and his Manager is impulsive. He had two offers and selected the one for higher salary and flexibility in working hours. His choice has gone wrong!
Have they made wrong choices or they do not want to embrace struggle/compromise, which is part of life, and only want celebration all the time!
Every day, we are faced with a myriad of choices, ranging from simple decisions like what to eat for breakfast, to more complex ones like choosing a career or life partner. At its core, choice is a fundamental human freedom. It is what differentiates our paths in life and allows us to shape our destiny. “Everything you are comes from your choices.” – Jeff Bezos
While certain decisions may seem straightforward, others involve sacrifices and struggles. Yet, whether we realize it or not, the power of choice solely lies within us. Unfortunately, when the choice we make go wrong, we decide to quit or live in regret instead of handling the adversity. We do not take accountability of the decision made and start blaming the situations.
The choice is always ours—to fight for what we want or to bend to achieve harmony. Sometimes, choosing to struggle is a necessary part of pursuing our dreams and ambitions. At other times, choosing to compromise is the wisest path to harmony and balance. Struggle builds resilience and sharpens our focus, while compromise teaches us humility and wisdom. Of course, we have the choice to walk out and Choice is all about selecting from the available alternatives wisely and with conviction.
Bhagavad Gita talks more about Free Will. Choice and Free will are two profound concepts and they delve into the very heart of what it means to be human and question how much control we truly have over our actions and decisions. While free will refers to the capacity to make decisions, choice represents the specific instance where an individual exercises that capacity.
In other words, Choice is the tangible manifestation of Free will. Without free will, choice would be reduced to mere automatic responses to external stimuli. “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Viktor E Frankl
Regardless of one’s stance, choice and free will form the bedrock of how we understand ourselves as autonomous beings capable of shaping our destinies, bearing moral responsibility, and navigating the complex landscape of life’s choices.
However, if we possess true free will, choice becomes a meaningful act of agency, allowing us to shape our lives and futures.