Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
The Road Not Taken, 1915, Robert Frost
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
If you carefully look at your day, you’ll notice that there are 100s and 1000s of decisions we make. Starting from snoozing vs waking up until போத்திண்டு படுத்துகவா? படுதுண்டு போத்திகவா? (cover with blanket and lie down? or lie down and cover with blanket?), every action has some form of decision making involved. Okay, I agree these are insignificant decisions with minimal impact for taking the unfamiliar choice. How about other career-defining ones like science stream vs commerce stream, engineering vs medicine, or employment vs entrepreneurship? While these all very common paths, there are so many less explored options that seldom make the list.
Now, I know this is easier said than done. You can definitely start smaller than a life changing move to get into the groove. When you search for the next movie/series to watch or the next game to play, try out the less famous one. Worst case, you don’t like it and move on to the next. When you go to the restaurant, ask for the server’s recommendation instead of going with your preference. If you don’t enjoy it, you know what your next order should not have. But if you do, you have found yourself a new option.
Another possible exercise is spend a little more time on the list of choices before analyzing which is best. Start with “are these the only options?”. This is even more important when you’re not entirely satisfied about the initial set. When you take a step back and give yourself time to understand the situation in detail, you might also be able to find paths that are more enticing than ever.
Be it choosing the next song to listen to or your next career move, look for “the road not taken”. Try it out when you get a chance. The experience is almost always priceless.
