Tag: Choices

What’s it Worth

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The other night, I had a dinner  with a friend whom I’ve know for well over ten years. We talked a great deal about how far we’ve come since we were younger. We talked about how much change has happened since the last time we saw each other. There’s something special about re-connecting with a friend who has been around for a majority of your life. They know you before you became the person you are today. They’ve seen you evolve, struggle, and overcome obstacles through a long period of time. At the end of the day, those are the people that you really need in your life – The ones who will stay with you even when you are at your worst.

We both grew up in the same town and went to the same schools. Now, we both work in a similar job field in New York City. We related on our current lifestyles and the choices that we’ve made since we graduated college. We related on the fact that the life we lead seems so much more difficult than those who are still back home. Everything about New York City is just more difficult.

After several hours of catching up, I finally arrived at the question, “Why did we ask for this?”

She replied, “Because we want more. We’re always hungry.”

I don’t regret the decisions that I’ve made since I graduated college. Frankly, I don’t regret any of the decisions that I’ve made in my life because they’ve lead me to where I am now (although I may not know exactly where that is)

Anyone who truly knows me knows that I am notorious for jumping into things prematurely. I just get too excited like a puppy asking for food. I haven’t quite been fully trained on how to wait. I have never had the patience. However, I am a very committed person. The problem with this is that once I’ve committed to something, it’s very rare that I back out. I will stick around to make it work even though the timing was never right in the first place.

I’ve always wondered why things were so hard for me in the beginning of any endeavor. I have the “Why wait?” mentality, but this mentality doesn’t apply in all cases. And I never learn. I re-encounter familiar situations time and time again, anxiously waiting for the day that things will work out from the get-go. But I’m doing everything backwards – Expecting great results without setting aside the time and preparation that’s needed beforehand. I must be a fan of self-destruction because many of my difficult situations that I’m placed in can be easily avoided if I had just been patient.

I know that I’m not the kind of person to settle for a life that is just easier, but it always makes me wonder if it’s all worth it.

It’s just good to know that at the end of the day, there are people in my life that can tell me it’s all worth it.

Fight or Flight

lindseyruns1 Comment

Lately, I’ve been really questioning my effectiveness in dealing with my problems.

I’ve been continuing to do a great deal of self-evaluation ever since I’ve been back from my trip to Australia and I’m realizing that I’m, slowly but surely, returning to my normal state of reaction (in the form of panic) towards certain situations – specifically stressful situations

My prime method of problem-solving has typically been to remove myself from the harmful situation.

Easy enough, right? It’s a common solution that almost everyone uses.

If you’ve ever heard of the term “Fight or Flight”, then you’d know that we, as humans, share this common response mechanism with all other animal species.

In a perceived “dangerous” situation, we must protect our own safety and either stay and tough it out or leave and avoid the bumps and bruises.

I agree with the saying, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger?” but how much do we risk at the cost of causing ourselves pain and heartache?

I don’t want to call myself a wimp, but I’ve been leaning more towards the option of flight when it comes to my more recent problems.

I’ve dealt with a significant amount of obstacles this year which made me question my abilities to tolerate stressful situations.

I had to fly 20 hours from my home just to get away from the things that were causing me stress. Yes, it was a much-needed and uplifting trip, but to my disappointment, it’s now over and I’m right back to where I started and have to deal with the same exact problems that I left behind.

How do you decide what is worth fighting for or fleeing from? For example, do you fight for the one you love or do you let them go? Do you continue to work at a job that pays well, but you’re not passionate about?

Where is the threshold in which we need to remove ourselves from a given situation? How do we choose?

I suppose that’s up to the individual. After all, the decisions we make shape who we are.

“Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.” – If I stay

Live with Passion

lindseyruns4 Comments

I’ve always been curious as to how people choose their interests. I often wonder whether it was by accident or maybe through a friend. Maybe they saw it on television or on the streets. Either way, I love seeing how far along they come with the time that they invest into that particular hobby or interest.

All throughout my life, I’ve had friends that have their own unique skills and talents. Dancers, gymnasts, skaters, musicians, singers, you name it. I’m constantly inspired by my diverse group of friends because they all lead such different lives and are passionate about different things. I surround myself with these kinds of people because of their drive and determination to succeed. There’s a saying that goes something like “the friends that we choose are a reflection of ourselves” I’m not sure if that’s how it actually goes or if I just made that up, but regardless, that’s what I believe.

When I dissect my friends by their personality type, I have a pretty clear understanding of why they are good at the things they’re good at. It’s because of the time and effort that they put into those things.

As we get older, it’s easy to lose sight of the things that we love. We grow up, get jobs, re-prioritize what’s important to us, and fall out of touch. Looking at my friends now, I’m seeing that a lot of them now have jobs, but are still attached to the things that they love and they’re all doing pretty well for themselves. They’re happy.

As I said earlier, I love to see how far along people come with the things that they love. If we work hard enough at the things that we’re passionate about, it will eventually manifest into something great. The time that we invest into our daily tasks is directly correlated to our success.

All of the decisions that we make in life are a reflection of ourselves. Similar to the way our friends are a reflection of ourselves, the same goes for the hobbies we choose. And this also goes for our work. We should never lose sight of our passion and interests because someday, it can and will define us.

Live with passion. Always. Something great will eventually happen.