23
SEE YOUR CHOICES
AS FORKS IN THE ROAD

When you think back a few years, it’s usually pretty easy to see that each of the major choices you made can be seen as forks in the road. In other words, you made a decision or choice that led you in a certain direction. Had you made a different choice, you would, in all likelihood, have gone in a different direction.

For example, you may have stood up for someone who was being picked on in front of others. That choice may have brought the two of you closer together as friends. Had you joined in on the taunting, you may not have been friends today. That single decision made a world of difference. Or perhaps you made the choice to skip a party or something else you really wanted to do so that you could study just a little bit more for a test. As it turned out, that tiny bit of extra effort on your part pushed you over the top and opened new doors. Had you gone to the party instead, you may have had more fun, but probably wouldn’t have done so well. You can probably think of tons of similar types of examples.

Natalie, a seventeen-year-old, shared with me that one of the most important forks in the road she remembers is when she withstood the peer pressure and made the conscious decision not to begin drinking or smoking. She said that there is no question that this single choice, which wasn’t easy for her to make, led her to hanging out with her current group of friends who have been her lifeline. She believes that had she made the choice to go ahead and smoke or drink (or both), it would have resulted in a whole different set of friends and a whole different set of experiences. Again, a single decision or choice makes a world of difference—a different fork in the road.

Sometimes it’s difficult to know when you’re at a fork in the road. A good rule of thumb is that forks often occur when you’re uneasy about a choice you’re considering, or when your conscience is speaking to you. How many times have you heard stories about teens who make only one mistake—but it’s a big one? You hear them say after the fact, “I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but I didn’t listen to my intuition.” But by then they were in jail or on drugs, or had become pregnant or gotten someone else pregnant, or something like that.

Seeing your choices as forks in the road is very empowering and reassuring. Doing so enables you to take charge of your life and helps you realize that it’s never too late to change direction. Since every choice is a fork in the road, each decision brings with it new hope and promise. The decision to put more effort into school, sports, hobbies, or certain relationships in your life, or to change an attitude, habit, or pattern of behavior is never more than one choice away. As soon as you make a new choice, whatever it’s about, you’ll be traveling in a new direction. You might be amazed at how much power you really have.