Last night, the world was informed of the death of Steve Jobs, the tech visionary who, over decades, has shaped so many things of modern life that we take for granted today. While I have never been a fan of Apple, the company, or Mr. Jobs, the businessman, the news of him losing his battle with cancer truly saddened me. I may not have liked Apple's marketplace tactics or Mr. Jobs' perceived arrogance but both the man and his company were forces to be respected and reckoned with. Without Mr. Jobs', the tech world has certainly lost its most forceful driver of innovation. With this said, rest in peace, Mr. Jobs.
When someone passes away as young as Steve Jobs did (he was only 56), it can really make one think about his or her own mortality. With modern medicine extending the human lifespan, we sometimes forget that we are still mere mortals, that illness or other tragedies can end our lives suddenly and unexpectedly. Life is truly short and fragile.
While watching the numerous tributes to Mr. Jobs on television and reading the many articles detailing his life online, something he believed in made me stop and think. What was this principle? Well, it was taking chances and living everyday as if it were your last day on Earth. As someone who is generally risk-averse and likes to plan things out prior to execution to ensure success, this concept doesn't always fit into my view of the world. I've done things before on impulse but these events are few and far in-between. Knowing my nature, I began to think about the decisions we have to make in life.
Initially, I had intended for this post to be without photos so that I could concentrate on my thoughts. This soon changed after I started typing as I remembered that there were some photos in my collection that could be woven into the post. This is true of the photo above, which is of a rose vine that has shed its leaves and flowers for winter. The thorns that line the woody vine remind me of the decisions in life that constantly nag you, the ones that you can't avoid no matter how hard you try. I dislike these kind of decisions because, well, they're usually difficult to make but yet, must be made. These are the type that make me procrastinate and avoid taking action. Self-justification for procrastinating rears its ugly head and I tell myself that I can't rush the decision, that I need more time to sit down and think about it carefully. Obviously, this isn't true since I am simply avoiding pulling the trigger.
Another type of decision that I dislike having to make is the type that makes my gut feel as if it were being twisted, much like the dried lily has been in the above photo. For me, decisions of this type are those for which I already know the correct and logical answer but are ones, even with this knowledge, that I want to choose the "wrong" choice for. This ambiguity makes things tricky as the situation quickly becomes a battle between logical rationality and emotional irrationality. Needless to say, the "correct" choice often results in a logical victory but at the same time, emotional loss. With these decisions, painful sacrifice is likely involved, making the matter all that much harder.
Speaking of emotions, this leads us to yet another type of decision, the one that is largely emotional where all logic is tossed aside. I chose the above photo of a dried hydrangea "bouquet" because it looks like a heart. Often, this type of decision involves relationships and heartbreak so the heart-shaped hydrangea is particularly appropriate here. Unfortunately, most of us will experience the consequences of type of decision at least once, sometimes multiple times for the unlucky ones among us. While loving another person requires us to put ourselves "out there" and trust our significant others not to let us fall, sometimes we are allowed to fall or allow our loved ones to fall. Such is the nature of human love.
So, just where the heck am I going with all of this? To be honest, I feel like I've been babbling and lost my original vision this post's intent. Looking at the three types of decisions mentioned above, one can see without much difficulty that the situation can arise where a decision involves not only one but two or all three types. This results in a decision that is unavoidable, internally conflicting, and emotionally painful - ouch, indeed. Going back to the concept of living life as if the end were imminent, the driving point of this whole monogue is that decisions have to be made, no "if", "and", or "but". If we stew and prolong the decision-making process, then we risk being stuck spatially and temporally. A small bump in the road can suddenly become an insurmountable mountain or a small pothole can become a deep, unbridgeable chasm. This is a situation that we must avoid getting into and one way to do that is to commit to a timely decision.
Anecdotes attributed to Mr. Jobs reveal that he was a man who made difficult decisions, took risks, and lived life. In the face of adversity and failure, he stood with resolve and marched swiftly forward. When others doubted him, he pushed even harder to prove them wrong. From him, we should learn to do the same. Challenges are to be met and overcome. Risks are to be taken so that we may attain our goals and dreams. Decisions are to be made. Like Mr. Jobs, we should ask ourselves, "What do I want to do if this day was my last?"
I realize that all of this is easier said than done. Having had to make some of these decisions recently, I'll be the first to admit to procrastinating and flip-flopping. Only with experience and confidence in ourselves can we move forward. Making hard decisons and taking risks, whether they be professional, recreational, or romantic in nature, is something we can't avoid. So, my friends, make your decisions and live life to its fullest. To Mr. Jobs, I say "Thank you" for helping me see clearer.
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