Writing Topic Tuesday – The Decision Point Edition

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Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken  is a classic poem that makes you think about the most universal behavior for all human beings: the ability to make a choice.  Ever since the days of Adam and Eve, we make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions every day. Most of them quite inconsequential: Should I have a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch or PB&J? Should I take the back roads to work, or the highway? A few of them can be life changing or life shattering: Should I have a baby or not? Should I drive away from the party after a few drinks? Should I cheat on my spouse? Unfortunately, many times we put as little thought into the life changing choices as we do the inconsequential ones.

So here are the topics surrounding decisions:

• List the 10 most important decisions you have made in your life?
• What was the best decision that you ever made? Why was it the best? Did you know this at the time you made it?
• What was the worst decision that you ever made? Why was it the worst? Were there any clues that it was bad that you should have noticed?
• How do you make important decisions? What is your process?
• Do you “trust your gut instincts” when making a decision? Why or why not?
• If you could go back and take a “road not taken” what would it be? How do you think your life would have changed as a result of it?
• What major life decision have you been putting off? Why? What needs to happen for you to take action?
• During the next 24 hours or so, keep track of all of the decisions that you make during that period and list as many of them as you can.
• Has a decision that someone else made had a significant impact on you?  How did it impact that other person?
• Choose Your Own Adventure (series of books) and now an interactive website.
• Have you ever had a period of time where you “threw caution to the wind” and “let the cards fall where they may?”  What happened?
• What would the world be like if all decisions were made for you?