A time always comes in a persons life, I believe, where they question things. They begin to question decisions, actions, reactions, and whether or not things turned out the way they planned. This time can come at any age really, but I definitely believe that it’s inevitable that it will come at some point.
I believe that these thoughts are really neither negative or positive – just neutral. Even if on the surface it doesn’t necessarily seem all positive I believe that it can be though.
Is such a thing that people call the butterfly effect, or maybe it’s called the chaos theory? Not sure, but I’m sure that you’re familiar with what I’m talking about. It’s when some tiny little action far far away, far detached from you personally, makes other things happen as a direct result of that action. It’s like a drop of water being dropped into a pond. It hits one spot and sends ripples out which ultimately effects the entire pond.
There’s also a chain reaction of the events that can be set off by just one tiny simple little thing, and if you connect dots looking backwards you’ll realize how things came to be. For example… as I’ve mentioned before, the day that I met my wife, there were so many things that happened that day. So many tiny tiny little instances and tiny tiny little decisions that seemed completely meaningless… But if any single one of them had not happened, we never would have met each other that night.
You can take this even further if you are so inclined. Another example, if I’d never met my wife I doubt I’d be working at the best job I’ve ever had right now. It was, a result of us divorcing that led me to the opportunity of this job. Even in tragedy, there can be positives and hope… silver linings to disaster.
It’s just so crazy to me that one tiny little decision that goes a different way can ripple out to completely change EVERYTHING going forward. It amazes me and every time that I sit and think about things like that I’m in total awe.
Am I saying not to make in the moment decisions, or spur of the moment decisions? Of course not. Am I saying that you should think and think and think before making a choice about something? Not necessarily. But I do recommend that you look backwards at your life so far and take some time to notice the connections that got you to where you are right now. Then realize that things sure wouldn’t be the same if just one tiny little thing was different.
It may also make you think about decisions going forward… although, we clearly cannot see the future, we can only see the past and be glad that it’s got us to where we are now.
Author: Pete Montacute
