Monday, January 17, 2011

Every Duck A Winner

Probably not unlike a lot of you, I’ve had to make a lot of hard decisions lately due to the economy.  Decisions, are, of course, difficult because we are not usually certain of the expected outcome.  At times it is quite difficult to know whether we are making a good or right decision.

And then there is the domino effect:  One decision begets other decisions, and even more uncertainty.  If the outcome isn’t what we had hoped, we are often prone to revisit the whole anxiety-producing decision-making process.
I was in this revisiting place yesterday when a picture of floating ducks popped into my head.  Took me a few minutes to untangle the image, but I was thinking about my favorite carnival game—the one where you pick up a floating duck and always win a prize.  Always.
Yes, I know that hard decisions build character.  Choices test our moral fiber.  We come out stronger for the struggle and know ourselves better as a result.  But I get very tired of uncertainty and the whole process of trying to decide.  And in spite of the fact that there are sometimes fewer choices to be made in tough economic times, they seem to weigh more.
Sometimes life seems like one difficult decision after another.  Getting concrete feedback about how your decisions worked out can take years, and sometimes you get kicked hard right in the butt.
Wouldn’t it be nice if every decision was a good one and came with a fabulous prize?  Then I think I wouldn’t mind the whole process so much.  Pick one.  It’s good.  Pick a different one?  It’s good, too.  All your decisions are great, your kids are above average, your women are strong, and your men are good looking.  Ducky, yes?
Hope some of you will comment about your decision-making ducks.  Now if I could just decide what to write about next time…

Marianne M. Smith
Writer At The Ranch
http://writerattheranch.com/
wordsmith@writerattheranch.com
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