Life filled with choices; be proud of them

For some reason my mind has been thinking an awful lot about choices lately. Why, I have no idea, but my thoughts kept coming back to the idea of how choices change our lives.

We make hundreds of choices a day. What clothes should we wear, what should we have for lunch, what morning news program should we watch, and on and on.

There is one question that I can’t seem to stop thinking about. What if one choice changed our lives dramatically?

When I look at my life, I think about the choices that I’ve made that have majorly impacted my life (as far as I know).

Where I decided to go to college, what career I decided to pursue and the opportunities I took in college have greatly altered my life.

What if I was “destined” to be a news writer? What if my fate was to be an astronaut, or be the person to solve world hunger? Who knows?

As with most things, I continued to over think the decisions that people make. There have been some pretty regrettable decisions that people have made throughout history, especially when it comes to finances.

For example, when author J.K. Rowling was trying to publish the first Harry Potter book, 12 publishing companies turned her down.

Fifteen years later, it is the most popular children’s book series to ever be printed, is one of the highest-grossing film series of all time and has a global brand worth $15 billion.

Bet they wish they could make a different decision now.

We often hear about actors and actresses who turned down roles, only to find out that they became iconic later on. For example, John Travolta turned down the lead in “Forrest Gump,” Jack Nicholson turned down the roll of Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” and Michelle Pfeiffer passing on playing Clarice in “Silence of the Lambs.”

They are only three of a long list of actors who turned down possible life- and career-changing roles. These examples have very nice careers, but what if they had accepted those roles?

After thinking about decision making, I am happy with the choices that I’ve made. My life is perfect just the way that it is, and our time here on earth is too short to dwell on regrets.

So if you’re like me, and find yourself contemplating life’s choices, think about the positive things that have come from your choices. Find the silver lining and be proud of how your life has turned out.

Unless you own the publishing company that turned down Harry Potter. You should spend the rest of your days regretting it.

Cortney Ofstad is a reporter for the Daily Globe. Contact her at [email protected] or 906-932-2211, ext. 120.