In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Master Yoda instructs Luke Skywalk to ‘Do or do not, there is no try.’ This is one of my favourite quotes and one of the philosophies of living that I find the hardest to uphold. Do or do not. For me, this means that you need to make a choice. Make a choice to do something, or not to do that something, don’t waffle in the middle. Make a choice and own it.

There’s a lot wrapped up in that statement, make a choice and own it… 

FOMO

First, there’s FOMO (fear of missing out). In my life, I have made choices out of fear of missing out on something. Not from a place of really wanting to do that thing but rather from a place of what if I don’t go and then I regret it? Think about the choices you have made in your life. Think about the ones you made because of something you wanted versus the choices you made because you were afraid that you might regret it if you don’t. Which choices turned out better? When I make choices based on FOMO the experience that I end up having is never as good as the experience of something I choose because I truly wanted it. Think of a really simple example, buying a scarf. Scenario one, the scarf is on sale and it’s a really good deal. You choose to buy it because you’re afraid that if you don’t buy it you’ll regret passing up that really good deal. Scenario two, the scarf isn’t on sale (or maybe it is, doesn’t matter) and you buy it because you love it. I suspect that the scarf you bought because it was on sale you probably don’t love the same as the scarf you bought because you loved the scarf.

Being Accountable

The other thing that happens when we make a choice and own it is that we then have to be accountable for that choice. I used to be (and sometimes fall back into) that person who when asked to do something I would say that I would try to. I would try to call you later, or I would try and attend that function/meeting etc. Instead of committing to yes, or committing to no, I would give myself an out I could use later on by saying “I’ll try”. For me, “I’ll try” often comes from wanting to be everything to everyone. Not wanting to disappoint someone by not showing up or by straight up telling them that I can’t. But the reality is by using this response I create way more disappointment. Now the person thinks that I might be coming, maybe they are looking forward to that, maybe they now start planning to have one more person there. And then I don’t show. Or I call the morning of to say I can’t make it. I think that creates way more disappointment than just owning the fact that I won’t be coming right from the start.

So, when faced with decisions to make today, make a choice and own it. Make your choices based on what you want, not what you fear you might regret. See what happens.