We Are Who We Choose To Be

  Have you ever reached a point in your life where you have been caught up in indecision? Caught there while you contemplate the consequences, the possibilities, the effect that such a decision will make on your life? You wrestle with the fear, the doubt, the storm of emotions that cause you to stop at the open door of greatness. Why do we remain stationary until we miss our chance for something so great?  Why do we stand at the threshold of opportunity, and hesitate? When we are beckoned to enter, why do we not act as someone else steps past and closes the door behind them? Why do we do such things?

We all make mistakes and we all have regrets. Some days they are all we can think about. All of the possibilities there would be if we had just taken that one final step. Everything that we could have avoided or accomplished if we'd had the courage to push aside the doubt and the fear and taken that one leap of faith. We will beat ourselves up over this. Kick ourselves until the memory of it fades. But this will accomplish little.

Patience is a virtue, but only to a point. When does patience end, and hesitation begin? It is said that he who masters patience can master all, but in the process of learning to wait, we must also learn when to act. When to seize opportunity as it presents itself. For what good is patience if we let the opportunity that we have waited so long for, slip through our hesitant hands? Great opportunities don't remain on the market for long, and we would be foolish to hesitate again if we are ever offered a second chance at a great thing.

What we must do now is press onward, we must choose to move forward. We cannot cling to the past. We have made the mistakes, yes. But that is not to say we have to keep them, to dwell on them and relive them in vain. Let the past hold on to those bitter memories. Let them fade, for the future is bright with hope and more chances ready for the taking. But we must always remember to learn from the mistakes of ourselves and others, the mistakes of the past. For failure is the greatest tool for teaching, if we would but learn.

We would be wise to study what caused our mistakes and to ready ourselves for the future and the successes held therein. To be ready to face the challenges we are all to encounter, to become confident in what we can accomplish would speak volumes of our character and will. Or we can remain idle as great things pass us by. Remain stagnant in out own self loathing and self pity. The choice is our own.

Who are we to make these mistakes in the first place? Do we consider ourselves less than everyone else for these decisions? If so, we must take a hard look at ourselves and see that we are more than the mistakes that we make in the circumstances that are forced upon us. More than our combined successes or failures. In the end, when the cards are being laid on the table and the decisions are being made..... We are who we choose to be.