| "I Didn't Have A Choice" |
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What is Choice? Do we ever really have a choice? Why do we choose as we do? These questions begin to probe towards the essence of being human.
God gave us not the ability to make a choice, rather the cognitive process to decide upon which choice to select. This, to my way of thinking, sets we humans apart from all other life forms, as we understand them. Choice then is a set of options; options requiring selection. Choice is not an action; it is a milestone. In every moment of every day, we face many hundreds of options. Most of the time we do not notice that a choosing event has occurred. We tend to overlook the little or automatic choice options. When we think of having to make a choice, we envision only those options that we believe may have a significant consequence. Regardless, each of those choices changes us individually and forever. A choice simply can not be undone. The resulting action may be reversed, but the fact of the choice made, can not.How often have we heard the phrase, "I didn't have a choice."? Can that be true? Absolutely Not !! The statement is interesting though, for it attempts to incorporate others into our choosing event. That too, can not be done; but more on that later. Our decisions are our own; made by us and for us. Choice sets come in two flavors: binary and multiple.At its most empirical, a choice set is binary. Select or do not select. Either option though represents a choice. Simply by selecting nothing, we have selected a choice. It is rare though that a choice is purely binary. In essence it exists only as the option to live or die. Every other choice set is a form of multiple choices. A choice to have a coffee or not, for example, is multiple. One selects one of two options. That is multiple choice. Inevitably choosing one option, creates more options to select. The new options are unique consequences of the last decision. Compounding this develops our individuality. It guarantees that no two humans are the same. A definition of Life may be, selecting from choices. Death then is the absence of choice options. What then guides our selection process? Maximizing benefit to the self. Cynical, you say? Not really. Every selection made aims to improve our own position. If not, why decide in that fashion? What about purely altruistic motives? Well, those who choose altruism, feel comfort by helping others. Therefore a selection guided by altruistic principles, generates a degree of comfort for the person making the decision.Facing options, we select those that we believe present the least discomfort to us. Even facing the life versus death binary decision, the selection will be based upon the least painful choice, to the person making the choice. The perception of comfort develops from the consequences of earlier choices selected. We decide upon options continuously throughout our lives. We alone make those selections, based on what we believe is best for us. We alone must accept the consequences for those selections. We can never be forced to select something we do not wish. So, is there such a thing as a bad choice? No. There may be undesired or unforeseen consequences, which cause us to believe the selection made was bad. Nevertheless, each of us always makes the best choice. |
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