Where It All Went Sideways!

Ever wonder where you might be if you had made one choice in your life differently?

If you're like me then you've probably thought that many, many, many times. Now don't get me wrong my life was never completely terrible, but neither is it where I pictured myself in this part of my life. How did I get to where I am today, you might ask? Choices, plain and simple, nothing to dramatic or life changing, just choices. Things everyone, everywhere are forced to deal with and they all lead to either beneficial or detrimental consequences later on in life.

Why call choices in life potholes? Well like actual potholes found on poorly maintained roads, choices made poorly can result in negative and damaging issues the further along in life you get. Education, for example, can be beneficial later on in deciding what lifestyle and career choices you have available to you. Turning education down or ignoring it until it is to late can be disasterous, it can leave you with fewer options for earning necessary income needed to survive. Now do not be discouraged, their are individuals that managaed to fix this shortcoming by working harder and persevering.

My potholes began appearing when I decided to leave the military without any exit strategy nor a single clue as to where to go find one. Follow this by making a poor choice that lead me spend time incarerated for a crime I later regretted taking part in. The road was already worn out by these two choices so surviving became a high priority for me. One blessing is that this all happened to me while I was living in the state of Hawaii, a beautiful if not expensive tropical paradise. Forced to take whatever employment I could find, all the while either living out of whatever car I had at the time or crashing on friends couches. Life was not easy but I was in that position due to the choices I had made and I perservered, survived and finally found my footing.

Many jobs and lifestyle changes later, I found myself slowly recreating my shambles of an existence. Now, I realize that my life is neither as gritty or tramatic as some others have been. I am not trying to compare my life to theirs, I am trying to show to those out there that even if your life goes sideways for awhile you can get it back on course if you put forth the effort to correct it. Potholes can be avoided with careful driving and poor choices can be prevented by being mindful of the possible results of those choices.

Stay vigilant and mindful of those choices you feel are not worth the effort to be aware of. Just like the car driven over a really bad pothole, a poorly chosen path in life can lead to problems that could have been avoided. I'm hoping my little bit of advice helps those out there find their footing again and stay on a path clear of potholes.