Everything in life hinges on the right decision and this, in turn, is the result of working on our will power, aligning ourselves with our inner obedience and developing our conscience

Some years ago, one of my friends stormed into her parent’s house with her two daughters just after schools had closed for summer vacations, determined never to return to her husband’s house. Her list of complaints centred around bossy in-laws, and no freedom…. 

Her parents though worried, prayed for a reconciliation, but to their utter dismay, divorce papers arrived in just 15 days. Luckily, her sister-in-law was wise enough to understand that it was just a storm in a teacup that would soon pass. She coaxed my friend to weigh the consequences. Her husband had a good government job and was better able to provide a good education for the girls.

Why deprive the girls of their rights just because of your ego, her sister-in-law coaxed. With some sense forced into her head, my friend agreed to return to her husband and after some counselling, both reconciled. They realised they had been hasty in their decision. Now both the girls are in good jobs. Thanks to their good education and their parents’ decision to reconcile, the girls grew up in a secure home and ended up doing well.

This story shows that making a right choice is the key to living a fulfilling life.

Seema Saxena

But before we learn to make the right choice, we have to develop our will power, align ourselves to our inner obedience and develop our conscience. Regular exercises and breath control or pranayama is vital to develop will power and inner obedience. You can develop these by making little decisions like getting up early, going for a walk every day, consciously avoiding foods that make you fat and staying calm in moments of stress.

Once you stick to these habits, you will soon witness a change in your attitude. Go for step two now. Work on conquering the mind to let the inherent pure consciousness, which is not conditioned to the material world, make the right choices.

Once you are aware of the right and the wrong perspective, the task of making the right choice becomes easier.

Let us take the most common dilemma that a teenager who has just passed high school faces. Till then, many had just been enjoying life without a real plan. Some were waiting for their results to make a choice, but their decision was based more on external factors. One can’t expect adolescents to be sure of what they want as they have to deal with their inner turbulence as well as the outer world. In addition to that, there is extreme pressure from parents as well as peers. Career counselling in schools has already exposed this problem and often, they have no idea where to look for answers while making a choice.

So the most obvious choice is to follow the trend. This choice will be good for all those who can cope and have the ability to mould their minds as they so desire.

Others weigh their options in terms of their capacity. Some might even want to discontinue studies (under the pretext of too much hard work) and join the family business, instead. 

Most of us already intuitively know what we have to do and can do things without effort. But subjects like science and mathematics are not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact, these subjects have sometimes destroyed lives because they are difficult to comprehend. If some decide to opt out, they have definitely made a good choice. It is important to consider what one enjoys and most know this by their gut feeling.

Teenagers should make their choices based on the resources available to them and settle for the one which best suits their personality. Even the time it takes them to travel to college, the academic staff, the exposure to fields they are interested in, are important.

Sometimes, halfway through a course, students may leave it. Instead, it would be better to focus on what you have in hand and give it appropriate time to know its finer points.

Once you make a choice, the effort you are going to put into it, will decide its success. It doesn’t matter then that your field of work is engineering, business, photography, editing, construction or cooking. Once we put in efforts, we will invariably climb up the ladders of our own respective fields.

Another important aspect of making the right choice is the preparation we have done for making the decision. Even a little research beforehand can save us from the consequences of making a wrong choice. 

However, once a choice is made, we have to show results. If you are an entrepreneur, you need to show your best. Improvisation is the logical next step.

Teachers have to be careful while planning assignments, superintendents have to envisage the whole idea, and also look into every aspect by carefully scrutinising for errors. It is important to make efforts to get it first-time right.

Time as we all know is important. We are limited by time. There is always pressure to produce the best in the allotted time. Management and planning is required. 

So is making a test run if you are to avoid last-minute problems.

So make the best of your life by choosing correctly and consciously.


Seema Saxena is a teacher with spiritual insight