Every time you say YES to something you say NO to something else.
Have you ever thought of that?
Be it an opportunity, a friendship, a relationship, a travel destination (ok maybe not so much in 2020 – thanks covid!!), even a food choice at a restaurant, every time you go for something you automatically decline every other thing.
This is referred to, in economic terms, as opportunity cost.
I was attending a group coaching program and this subject came up. It is something I have been thinking about for years now and I found it very interesting that other people, and economists in particular, have been highlighting this. We explored it in terms of business opportunities, but I think it is true for life in general.
Take a moment and really think about it…
Every time you agree to something, every time you make a choice or decision, it is ALWAYS at the expense of every other choice or decision you could be making.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that certain choices are wrong (although this might be the case sometimes) but rather that by doing the mere act of choosing/deciding/saying-yes we automatically reject everything else that up until that point was also equally possible.
What I am really trying to say is that our choices hold an immense amount of power!
It is usually not a matter of life-or-death, but this doesn’t mean that it is not impactful. Our choices communicate things to other people (& ourselves). They are a great part of our behaviour and they essentially shape our reality. They “speak for themselves”.
One super important thing to remember is: they cannot be safe bets!! At least not 100%. I don’t mean to unsettle anyone, but by default we cannot control the outcome.
If we are being honest here, we can NEVER be certain of what the outcome of our choices will be!
Even after running a detailed and calculated assessment, we can only speculate on what the result may be based on the information we have at hand.
I feel it is really important to highlight this because there are times that (for a variety of reasons) we go on autopilot mode and we could be making choices without being conscious of them.
Or we could be deciding something based on avoidance and fear ...
I know I am opening up a can of worms, and I promise I will write some more on the subject of fear and autopilot living, but for now, just take some time to ask yourself this:
What am I really saying YES to???
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