Decisions, decisions, decisions...mistakes, mistakes, mistakes...lessons, lessons, lessons...
From an early age, each person in the world has to learn that every decision made has a consequence. Whether we are treated or punished, decisions must be made. On the road to success (remember, the individual defines his/her success), the choices made may not always be interpreted as good ones, even if the choice is made with the best interests in mind.
Upon hearing this song for the first time many moons ago, I was drawn to John Legend's soulful voice and the words that he sang. I immediately thought of my life and all of the ups and downs that I have experienced. Hip-hop artist and businessman Clifford "T.I." Harris paints a vivid picture of his beginnings, from his childhood aspirations to acquire wealth to his decisions to become a successful artist. Along the way, he encountered several life-changing experiences, ones that have earned him extended incarcerated stays within the state. Still, just like anyone, when adversity arrived at his doorstep, he had opportunities to make decisions to begin new paths in life and to end old ones, which his last two albums have elaborated on, as well as his reality show (not a shameless plug I assure you). T.I. is quoted as saying, "I've learned just to do things. Courage comes from adversity once you go through it". For me, courage seems to be an important key to success and during the video, you can see courage displayed as T.I. continued working and trying to help others even though he had been sentenced with another stay with the state.
I dare not compare myself or my life experiences to those of the aforementioned artist, but like him, I have faced seemingly countless adverse situations that were the consequences of my own decisions, as I'm sure my readers have as well. Some may speculate upon the reasons behind the choices made by categorizing them as immature actions, selfishness, stubbornness or ignorance, etc. Yet, in every one's mind at the time that a decision is made and a mistake develops and a life lesson begins, the reality of the situation is quite clear and the reasoning for that decision may seem very logical.
Everyone has heard the saying, "hindsight is 20/20" and if we could see a slide show of our lives we could observe and remember things that may not have been as clear before. Luckily, we can choose to reflect (be careful not to ponder too long) on situations once we have gotten out of them to discover the lessons we must learn so that we will not make the same mistakes twice. This is the secret path of acquiring wisdom, which I'm sure you will agree is essential to success.
My dad told me once, "when the unexpected occurs, that's not the time to be emotional. Think...'how am I going to deal with this situation'? Then, get your plan together and follow through with your plan. Once you are in the clear, then you can look back on it (view your slide show) and react how you want: jump up and down, cry, laugh or whatever." Seems like a good recipe for success to me...
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