Indecision plagues us all. Sometimes we have difficulty with the simplest of things, like choosing between buying a taco or a burrito, or whether to wear a blue or a green shirt. But sometimes a choice can seem almost too challenging to answer, a fact that I learned the hard way over Labor Day weekend when a 10-year-old demanded I answer the following question: Would You Rather a) have extremely noticeable orange dandruff all over your head every day, or b) have a booger perpetually hanging out of your nose? I eventually chose a, but not before being thoroughly grossed out and concluding on a different matter entirely: “Would You Rather” poses awful, yet important, quandaries.
For those of you who have never attended a sleepover party or been in the presence of kids under the age of 10, “Would You Rather” is a game that presents two equally unappealing or equally desirable choices that you must choose between. A standard example usually sounds something like: Would You Rather a) have the ability to fly, or b) have the ability to read minds? (My choice: a.) More complex examples are harder to answer, like: Would You Rather a) go to one of the top colleges in the nation for tons of money, or b) go to an “OK” college for almost nothing? Oh, wait a second; that’s not a “Would You Rather” question, that’s just one of my many constant internal dilemmas.
As a senior in high school, my life seems like an endless game of “Would You Rather.” On a daily basis I am forced to make hard choices, like a) hanging out with my friends or b) participating in one the many extracurriculars I need to pursue in order to get into college (my choice: b), or a) finishing all my homework or b) sleeping (my choice: a.) These everyday decisions force me to constantly choose between the lesser of two evils.
On the other end of the spectrum, the day when I essentially select what path my future will take is looming ever nearer. I will need to decide which college I want to attend from my (hopefully) long list of acceptances. This choice will be insanely difficult not because I don’t like any of my options, but because I like them too much. It’s similar to picking only one breed of puppy to love: how can you possibly choose only one?
In the end, the choice is less important than how you react after making it. My choice is to make it work. Yes, having orange dandruff is a fate equivalent to social death in high school, but instead of moping around about it, just put on a hat. Find some way that can drive your “impossible” choice in a new and better direction.
Even our 67th secretary of state agrees that you can’t let a difficult choice overwhelm you.
“I can’t stand the kind of paralysis that some people fall into because they’re not happy with the choices they’ve made,” Hillary Clinton said in October 2012. Though she was addressing women who feel they must make a choice between work and family, her message can still apply to all situations.
You can’t allow yourself to fall into “paralysis” because of indecision, or worse, due to the aftermath of making a decision. Even when it seems like you are living one big game of “Would You Rather,” you must learn how to live with the choice you have made.
Would You Rather a) agonize over a choice you have made and never truly accept it or b) make your choice work for you? (My choice: b).
