Options vs. Choices vs. Needs

Few days back, I was in a mall buying groceries. I accidentally overheard a conversation.

Wife: Let's buy those chips.

Husband (shot back): Why?

Wife: Because that famous guy promotes it. We should taste how it is.

Just like you, I couldn't stop smiling.

Anyway, what did you do these many days since last blog? Overslept or over-worked? Do you feel great about what you did? If thinking of it hurts you, work on it. If it makes you feel proud, keep doing it.

This time, I have chosen three important words for our conversation.

First word: Options.

What are your options, when:

- You start your day? What are the first things which come to your mind? Do you think your ideals would be giving themselves the same options when they get up?

- You watch news. Do you see what channels show you? Or you have your own selected relevant categories?

- You drive to your work and have the feeling of honking the horn? Do you or do not?

- You pass by people at your work? Smile? Greet? Acknowledge? Or plain face?

- You are discussing with colleagues? Listen or ignore them?

- You take food? Right diet or whatever comes around and tastes good for a moment?

Try to answer these questions in your mind.

Now let's see our next word.

Second word: Choice.

You choose options for yourself. And then you make a choice out of those options. Isn't it true?

For above questions, you may have more or different options. But you choose those yourself. You make choices. Every second of every hour of every day of your life. Either knowingly or unknowingly. So choose your options carefully. With awareness.

There are 168 hours in a week. That's a big number. Isn't it? How are you spending them? Think about what are the alternatives you are giving yourself. Are your role models and successful people giving themselves similar ones?

Third word: Need.

This is a very important word. Whole world revolves around this word. Marketers create need in your mind and then make their sales. You create the need in your mind and then work towards achieving those. But we know very little about the basics of need. For example, where are our needs generating from? What is the source of our demands? Is it because of our own requirement or comparison with someone else?
Also, we need to introspect the choices we have given ourselves in the form of need. For example: What is the need of reproduction for humans when our population is already 8 billion? (1 billion = 100 crore) Aren't we facing more and more unfavorable environmental changes year by year? Aren't hundreds of species dying every year because of our actions to fulfill our so called needs?

Let me ask simpler questions: What is the need to taste that wafer which the wife was insisting about? Or what is the need of honking a horn while driving? Before you start justifying the "need" for these questions, please do make sure that you've chosen the options for reasoning wisely and it's not because so far you have heard that those answers are the most logical answers.

We humans are very selfish. We go for easier and convenient path. We choose what is normally accepted by people. That is why population growth, plastic pollution, noise pollution, over production, etc. has become the elephant in the room and we are running away from our responsibilities. If we are intellectual and have commonsense, we need to take right actions.

Next time you wake up, choose what you want to do with your life.

Give yourself options based on the need of an hour, not just for you but for the whole humanity.

Do the right thing. That's the real living. It's not just about laughing with friends while having a drink. Make it bigger than that.

Go for it! That's the way to be different.

Not everyone has guts to do that.

What about you?