The power of decision

All of us make decisions every single day. We decide what we're going to eat for breakfast (or if we're even going to eat breakfast), what we're going to wear, how we're going to do our hair, and what we are going to do during the day. Then we head off to work, to school, or just out and about, and a whole new realm of decisions awaits us. I think a good chunk of the time, we don't even realize when we're making decisions...we're simply reacting to the world and what is before us.

Today I was at work, sitting in my office when my boss comes to my door and asks me to work on a computer project. I said sure, met with another person to get the specs, and then went to find the other person I needed resources from. A funny look on her face and a few moments later, I was in her office, and she was pretty upset as she told me that the reason she made the funny face was that she felt hurt because I was asked to do the project and not her, when she felt the project was in her jurisdiction and not mine. I caught myself feeling tears stinging my own eyes for a second and was taken aback, and I went back to my office feeling like I'd totally screwed up. Not only that, but I was stuck...I couldn't say anything else to her, and I couldn't say anything to my boss because then I'd be going behind someone else's back...and then I got to thinking how much one tiny request had affected several people.

First it was just me and my boss and the other guy I was working with, but then it was my other co-worker, and inevitably her family or whoever she decided to confide in about it, it was my friend that I would tell that I was so confused...and it was anyone that either she and I came into contact with, because having that in the back of both of our minds would affect the way we'd react to other things. Also interesting was the fact that very likely, the one who made the decision to give the job to me would never know what else had taken place because of his choice.

I think it would be interesting to follow a decision...kind of soap opera or sitcom-esque...where you can see how things are hapening around a central plotline. I started thinking about what I consider to be one of my more defining decisions...where I went to college. That affected relationships I'd made, experiences I'd had, people I'd met, places I've traveled, and even brought me to the job I am currently working in...and interestingly enough, put me into the position that I am in right now...strange how all the seemingly miniscule things of our lives are woven into one great experience...and how they all intertwine to create who we are.