Choices…….we make dozens every day. Most are made without much thought and most do not have significant consequences. Some do. Some are real game changers, but most are not.
Let me tell you about a choice that I made today. It happened at my local health club. I had finished my workout and was stretching against a bench press rig when I noticed two quarters lying under the bench.
Whoa! My lucky day. If you knew me, you would understand that this was huge. Not only do I stop to pick up coins when I find them on the side of the road or in parking lots, but I go so far as to record the amount in a spreadsheet that I maintain to record total income for each month. Anal? Well, maybe. Probably. But that’s me. (See my essay “Anal….Maybe Not”)
But then I remembered that there was an older guy doing presses at that same bench press rig just before I started my stretching routine. Groan! What should I do? I looked across the gym at the old guy. He was now working out on another apparatus. He would probably finish soon and head for the locker room, none the wiser. Easy.
Keeping the two quarters would probably give me one of my better months for picking up what I call “road change.” That would have been cool.
But it would also have been wrong. If I had found the quarters without seeing the old guy there just before stretching, fine, that would be legit. But I had seen him. I was pretty sure that he had dumped them there while doing his presses.
There really was no choice. I went up to him, waited for him to finish his routine, and asked if he might have lost some change while doing his presses. He felt his pockets and said, “Yeah, I think I had a couple of quarters before starting today.” Done deal. I gave him his quarters. He said, “thanks.” I left the club.
In the universe of choices, this was not a “game changer.” Fifty cents. Not a big deal. But it was important.
Why? Every choice we make has the potential to say something about us, who we are, what we value. The choices we make reflect our character. Ask yourself, “Is the choice I am about to make the right choice or the wrong choice?”
Oh, and by the way, before you conclude that I am a self-serving jerk, trying to make myself look good, hit the pause button. Take a deep breath.
My concern for choices stems from that fact that I have made way too many bad choices in my life. Encouraging others to make smart and good choices might, I hope, make up for some of that.