Did You Take the Right Choice?

We are what we choose to be. The choices we make define who we become. Some are hard but necessary, while others are easy yet better left unchosen. There’s always this blurred boundary between all our choices, each carrying its own pros and cons. What matters is choosing what aligns with your character, your way of thinking.

You won’t always take the right decision, no one does. Some choices will turn out to be terrible ones. They might cost you peace, money, or even relationships. But eventually, you must learn to accept them, to be at peace with what you chose. If the outcome is good, wonderful. If it isn’t, you still gain something, wisdom. You become stronger.

And when you’re unsure what to choose, remember what Jeff Bezos once said: that he built Amazon using the Regret Minimization Framework. He imagined himself at 80 and asked, “Will I regret not doing this?” Most of the time, the answer makes things clear. We often regret the chances we didn’t take more than the ones that went wrong. So make the choice that your older self will thank you for, even if it’s uncertain or uncomfortable today.

Life, in a way, is like the stock market. It rises and falls every day based on actions, just like our lives do. Some days everything goes up, some days everything comes crashing down. Sometimes, it stays low for a while. But every big fall is followed by new highs, and every rally faces a correction. Over time, it still moves upward, higher than where it began.

As SRK says in Om Shanti Om,

“Humare filmon ki tarah humari zindagi mein bhi end tak sab kuch theek ho jaata hai… Happy endings. Aur agar theek na ho, toh woh the end nahi,  picture abhi baaki hai mere dost.”

To the actions I’ve taken and the character I’ve built, through both right and wrong choices,  I’m grateful. I’m at peace with every single decision I’ve made. Who I am today, I’m content with. My strengths, my flaws,  I see them clearly now. And that clarity didn’t come from only right choices; it came equally, if not more, from the wrong ones.

So take action, and be at peace with the actions you take with the knowledge you have at that moment. Only after acting and seeing the outcome do we realize what we missed, what went wrong. The dots don’t always connect while you’re in motion; they connect only later, revealing why things happened,  for better or worse.

So choose bravely. And even if you choose wrong, you’ll still learn,  a happy ending in both cases.

To the wrong choices, perhaps even more than the right ones,  I owe you a thank you.

Sometimes, you might have to take a “wrong” choice, not because the decision itself is bad, but because it serves something greater in that moment. That’s what adulting often is: choosing discomfort for the sake of your loved ones. Taking a job you don’t love. Saying yes to a proposal when you aren’t ready. Sacrificing your pride to keep peace at home. These choices may seem wrong, but they reveal your strength and character.

Still, there must be a boundary,  between what you choose to give up and what is taken from you. Being respectful to elders is right, whether done willingly or out of obligation. But surrendering your beliefs,  your ideas of love, faith, or life,  just because others think differently, is not. There should be a gentle rebellion,  not to impose your idea, but to show that multiple truths can coexist.

The greatest gift a parent or mentor can give is guidance without control,  to share their idea but also allow you to test yours. If your idea fails, you’ll know theirs works. If it succeeds, it becomes your own truth. Either way, the learning is yours.

I’m deeply grateful for that freedom,  to think, to explore, to make mistakes, to be supported emotionally and financially while finding my way. Every cube I solved, every word I wrote, every place I explored, it all traces back to that freedom.

So, are you an explorer or a follower? Or worse, a follower who longs to be an explorer?

As I once wrote in Do You Ask Questions?, the same applies here. Because, in the end,  what you’re not changing is what you’re choosing.

Whatever it is, whatever the circumstances, it’s you who’s choosing. And it’s you who must own it.