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On Decision-Making
“Up, down, yes, no, shall I stay, or shall I go?” I am not certain who authored this query, I just remember it from an episode of “The Dick van Dyke Show”. It seems, however, to be a recurring theme in my head.
Not that I want to go anywhere…physically, that is. The more pointed question is do I want to stay where I am, doing what I am doing, or…do I want to go down the uncertain road of change, knowing that life will likely be better for me?
The devil-I-know tells me that staying put is the safe course. Not that caring for elderly in-laws, an adult child with special needs, a spouse who works far too hard, and occasionally an adorable 4-year old granddaughter isn’t keeping me busy. It does. I get great satisfaction in keeping up with the small daily tasks of home life. Why, I can fold laundry to perfection, put together meals that meet the requirements of at least four (sometimes five) people with specific dietary requirements, and manage to avoid doing thing I really want to do.
That is the devil-I-don’t-know. It must boil down to uncertainty. I can be certain that putting the effort into doing laundry gives me a feeling of accomplishment. I can’t be certain that if I put the time and effort into writing and publishing I will get the same feeling. I have written and published a few things. I will admit that it does feel good when a piece is completed and I…
