Sunday, June 14, 2015

Control Our Choices

One chapter in my life has closed and another has begun. College has been the main focus in my life for the last 7 years and now that it is over, things are going to have to change. No more tests, homework, assignments, or grades. (Just kidding... I am now studying for the Series #7 and Series #63 exams because I am going to working for Fidelity Investments.) No more all-nighters or roommates (until I get married and have kids) or random midnight runs for food (unless my sisters are insomniacs too and then Red Arrow Diner, here we come!). Things are just changing and to be honest, I am still trying to find my footing.

People sometimes say that we are our own biggest critics and I agree. I put huge expectations in my life and to be perfectly honest, I can't think of a single one that I actually met. I have definitely put forth my best effort but the not-so-simple-yet-simple answer is that we can't control our own lives or any other person's life for that matter. The only thing we truly can control is our own choices. Bad things happen to good people and karma doesn't always deal out justice in a timely fashion. Life isn't that black and white... good and bad... because honestly, we all are a little grey. What I am trying to say is that for every choice that we make we don't get to pick the consequences for that choice. For instance, I went to graduate school and got a MBA to increase my career opportunities. My expectation was that after graduation I would have better opportunities right out the gate but that was not the case. Don't get me wrong: I am grateful for the opportunity that I do have; it is with a solid company, great benefits, and I am going to learn a lot; but again my "great expectations" need to be accompanied with a great deal of patience. Things will happen eventually but I need to work hard now and my ambitions will be met later. Answers, like I said before, are not that simple.

Waiting for and expecting things to get better doesn't make people happy. It makes them, speaking for myself, over eager. Yes - I need to work hard as I wait for the right opportunity to present itself but I also need to choose to be happy. I need to live in the present and not wait for the future. My old roommate Tim talked to me about this all the time and he was right. Do I know why I am here? For work sure but no, not really. I don't really know why all my other opportunities didn't work out or out of all the parallel paths I could be on, why I am here now. I can think that I control my life but I don't. So instead of wasting time, I need to see what I do have around me and start checking out all of those possibilities. Time to enjoy the ride and make the most of it! This is my attempt of letting go and saying to the world, "Let's go. Bring it on."