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Life’s Hard Choices 

by Dr Sam (Wee Hong) Tan

“The Spirit of A Man Is Constructed Out of His Choices” – Irvin Yalom

James came to therapy seeking a way to move forward with his life. For the last 10 years, he has been struggling to hold down a job because of stress. Now, he feels a strong sense of ambivalence. On one hand, he feels the need to be employed as pressures mount for him to do so from family, from his partner. from the government and from society at large, and on the other hand, he feels a strong aversion to working, preferring the time flexibility and not having to be concerned about obligations. James was very stuck and he depressed for being this stuck.

In our discussion, James came to realise that like everyone else, he has to make choices in his life. Millions of choices in a lifetime – from the mundane issues like what to eat, to major life decisions.  such as to migrate to another country or not. He also realised that any choice he makes comes with a mix of positive and negative consequences.

However, despite this realisation, he still felt stuck and told me that he could not choose.  that he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. The realisation that shook him up roughly though came from a comment I made. I told him that not making a choice was still a choice – he has chosen not to chose and therefore maintain status quo of being stuck. I also told him that it was fine for him to choose not choosing (for that was his prerogative) as long as he is contented with this choice. And that he has mustered up his strength to face the consequences of this very choice, because the consequences will befall him regardless of how he feels about it.

As humans, we are faced with choices everyday, from the mundane to the big, life-impacting choices. And it is our responsibility to make those choices and face the consequences of those choices. This responsibility cannot be delegated to someone else unfortunately.

Given that life is about making hard choices, why not settle down and evaluate all our options critically and choose the life direction that would give us the greatest life satisfaction, greatest sense of connection to others and to something that transcends our individual self and which gives us a strong purpose in our lives? Why not map out potential consequences and set up plans to face them head on?

If you are looking for a Brisbane Psychologist in the CBD, we at Centre for Human Potential have several Psychologists dealing with a vast variety of conditions. Feel free to contact us and talk to someone about taking the next step.

Dr Sam Wee Hong Tan | CFHP
Sam Tan

Sam is a Clinical Psychologist with a down-to-earth nature who has a very open and warm approach. Sam works collaboratively with his clients to raise awareness of patterns within themselves and patterns of relating with others.

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