CHOICES & CONSEQUENCES

We all make choices every day.  What we will eat, what to wear, who we date and even the people with whom we spend the rest of our life.  The effects of those choices are short-lived for the most part.  If you eat something that doesn’t agree with you, it will exit your body one way or the other.  If you wear something unflattering, you can give the outfit away, hide it in the back of your closet and not wear it again.  There are other choices we make daily where the consequences are greater.

The ability to choose or to make our own choices is a fight that begins early and at every stage there is more and more debate, discussion and decision.  In fact, it is so common that many of the freedoms we gain as people are given by age.  One can operate a vehicle legally by the age of 16 or decide to whom to vote for in political elections at the age of 18 and by 21 a person is considered legal to drink alcoholic beverages; all the choices or abilities mentioned are accompanied with responsibilities, some greater than others.

Choices! The thing about making choices is often one doesn’t always see just how far, how deep the consequences go for some decisions that one makes.  When choices are made too quick, made in the heat of one’s emotions, made based on desires or even choices made that only consider one’s self can and will result in consequences that people around them must suffer.  Choices.  It is on the ability to make choices that most focus and fight for.  What if the focus changed to thinking about the consequences of the choices we make?

Choices can occur quickly, consequences linger.  A bad choice can result in consequences that last until there is a conscious decision to adjust and/or undo the choices made.  Consequences of choices can affect those who love the choice maker, those who financially support the choice maker and people that get caught in the middle of choices made.  Simply put, instead of focusing on the ability to make choices maybe we should teach our children, emphasize to young people that making choices looks easy and it may make them feel good but having the ability to make choices means nothing if you can’t live with the consequences of the choices.

Overspending and under budgeting can be detrimental even allow one to lose the things he or she has acquired.  Choice to spend made, multiple scenarios of consequences can and will follow.  Do you really know how long a financial choice affects your budget?

What about relationship choices?  Can you really determine how deep emotionally, socially, financially and mentally the cost of those decisions?  No, you cannot.

Having a child before and out of marriage?  That decision affects generations.  Single parents begat single parents.  The choice to be a young mother or father leads to consequences affects one socially, mentally, and financially.  It can become a generational curse.

There is no way that one can make perfect choices all the time, there is no such thing.  The other part of that is that we learn through trial and error.

• The goal is that when one begins to make choices that he or she think about more than self-satisfaction.
• To think beyond the immediate and think a little further down the road before making the choice.
• The goal to bring awareness that if one makes a choice, he or she should be equipped to handle the consequences that accompany the choice or at least admit the mistake and grow from it.
• Evaluate your choices and when the choice wasn’t right BEFORE making another rash decision to get out of the consequences from the previous bad choice.
• Although sometimes it feels that way, not all decisions or choices have to be made right away. Think before making them, plan, evaluate and in some cases delay making the choice to ensure the correct one.

For every choice, there are consequences.  Think before you do.