Make Good Choices

Hello, we are at the end of my blog series

10 Things I Would Tell ANYONE

#1: Make Good Choices

Okay, let’s get this shameless plug out of the way, right away – much of the book I wrote, Atheist. Agnostic. Skeptic. Believer. is about the importance of making good choices. It’s one of the critical overarching themes, and I think I make a pretty good case for it by sharing my misadventures and disastrous near-misses. (Is that too much? I don’t know. Maybe.) Suffice it to say, anyway, there were ample opportunities for better choices to have been made along my way.

I’m wondering now if these words of wisdom in particular, or much in the way of words of wisdom in general, were given to me growing up. I’m not saying my parents didn’t parent and instruct, and I’m not complaining. I know my parents told me things. It’s just that things were different. Kids were more like accessories to the adults’ lives then, just sort of around. Whereas today, I know it’s not only me always looking for “teachable moments” to drill stuff into the sponge-like brains of our kids. I share my successes and I share my failures. I try to have an honest dialogue with my daughter about anything, and I’m always trying to get the lessons I’ve learned into her head: “…see, that’s why it’s important to always strive to make good choices.”

As I say in the book, your life is the sum of your choices, the decisions that you’ve made up to that moment in time. You can’t just make good choices though; it’s something you have to strive to do. So let’s just say it. If you continually make poor choices, your life might get pretty shitty and stay shitty. If you continually make good choices, your life might look better than that, and it might continue to improve again and again.

The argument can be made, “yes, but then when this unavoidable calamity or tragedy hits…” Yes, I can’t disagree with you. Those are entirely different circumstances, and they will unfortunately arise. You will need help. You will need to rely on others. You will need to make good choices in those times also, though. And hopefully that will help you progress through them – the way out is usually through, as they say.

But on the day-to-day, it’s simply the best advice, the best tip, the best mantra I can think of: Always strive to make good choices! If you get in the practice of really trying to make good choices – which really is just acting in the best interest of yourself and others – one good decision will beget another will beget another until you have a string of good choices, the result of which must certainly be positive.

You might be thinking, “yes, but who would make poor choices on purpose?” Well, we do that sometimes, don’t we? Sometimes we take the easy way, or the lazy way. Sometimes we tell ourselves it won’t hurt just this one time. Sometimes we won’t make changes that we know we need to make. Sometimes we procrastinate to avoid coming to a decision. Sometimes we just say,

“Fuck it!” That’s pretty blunt, but it’s true. I was watching a show the other day about an alcoholic and he was in that moment of should I or shouldn’t I drink this double-Vodka, and he said “Fuck it!” and downed his glass. I’m not an alcoholic, but I could relate – and probably you can too – to that impulse. To be honest, it pained me to see him do it, because I knew it was the wrong choice. And he knew it, too, but he did it anyway.

So it takes some effort. Maybe some forethought, some good instruction from others and some practice, but we need to strive to make good decisions, like, all the time. Often when I get out on the road, I pray for God to help me make good choices while driving, because it’s just that easy to slip up, isn’t it? (Driving is terrifying and you can’t convince me otherwise. I can do it. I’m just saying, it’s risky. Every time. Bring on the self-drives because computers have a better chance at keeping us alive than we do.) (Sorry, that was a tangent, wasn’t it?)

Always try, always strive to make good decisions. Don’t guess, gather info so you can be informed. Rely on those you can trust for counsel. And if you choose to believe in God – and I literally pray you do – know that you have the greatest ally in your corner.

Is it a good decision I’ve made to be this open about my thoughts and beliefs in this blog? I think so. If someone can glean just one tiny little nugget to help them with their day, that’s something. I never have and never will tell you I have all the answers, but I have some tips I’ve learned over the years. Hope they help, so remember:

I just, I mean, I feel compelled to just pour my heart out here to you because even if I don’t know you, you are on my mind. I think about you, want the best for you, want to encourage and uplift you! I want you to believe in yourself and know your worth! I want you to use your talents and abilities to get out there and absolutely kill it every day! Be encouraged. I support you all the way! And I mean that.

Thanks for reading, scanning, taking in a bit here and there, whatever. Appreciate you coming by. Cheers for now!

Your friend,

Rock Rockstead is an author, blogger and artist. More to come? Seems likely, he likes to hear himself talk. Type. Right, you get it.