Micro Story: Is there ever a bad decision?

Once upon a time in a small, quaint town called Timberland Hills lived a girl named Bridget.

Bridget had a reputation for being the girl who always made the right choices. She was the one her friends turned to when they needed advice, and her lecturers at Timberland Hills University admired her clear decision-making skills.

Bridget, however, often found herself second-guessing her choices and fearing the consequences of making a wrong decision. She would spend many hours meticulously planning every step of her life, listing the pros and cons before committing to any outcome. Her study desk was littered with sticky notes and scrap paper with the two heading always in capital letters at the top of each page.

“I need some fresh air,” Bridget lamented after rewriting a list of cons for the third time. “I just don’t know what to do!”

She grabbed her hat from the stand near the door and left the dormitory. Walking through the town's park lost in her mulling, she met an elderly man named Mr Frode. Although she had never crossed paths with Mr. Frode before, his features seemed oddly familiar to her. His face filled with deep wrinkles, resembling cascading waterfalls, and his skin bore the speckled marks of numerous sunspots. Bridget couldn't help but offer a warm smile in his direction, and in return, he responded with a gentle, weary smile of his own. Mr. Frode's smile possessed a unique charm that had a way of making people feel at ease, just as it did for Bridget in that moment.

The two strangers struck up a conversation, and Bridget found herself sharing her worries about making the wrong choices in life.

Mr Frode listened intently to her concerns and replied warmly. "My dear Bridget," he began, "I've learned that having free will is a blessing in itself. You see, any decision you make is the right one because it's yours. Life is a journey, and each choice you make is a step on that path."

The young woman frowned, not quite grasping the older man’s point. "But what if my decisions don't lead me where I want to go? What if I end up regretting them?"

Mr Frode chuckled softly. "Ah, Bridget, it's important to understand that sometimes decisions don't pan out the way you want them to, but that doesn't make them wrong. It simply means they are pathways to explore. Every path you take, whether smooth or rocky, leads to experiences that shape you."

Later that afternoon as the sunlight filtered through the leaves of a tree where Bridget sat, she pondered Mr Frode's words. She realised that she had been so focused on avoiding mistakes that she had forgotten the joy of discovery and the thrill of taking risks.

Bridget decided to start taking chances and that meant making decisions without overthinking them. Some led to wonderful outcomes, while others took her down unexpected and challenging routes. But instead of viewing these detours as wrong turns, she saw them as opportunities to learn and grow.

Bridget finished university that year and pursued her dreams of starting a thought-leader business. She travelled to far-off places and made many new business acquaintances and friends. She discovered that life was about experiences, and every decision, whether successful or not, added to the richness of her journey.

A few years later, Bridget returned to her hometown of Timberland Hills and decided to walk to the park. She hoped to see the old man who had shared his wisdom, but Mr Frode was nowhere to be found. She thought that perhaps he had been a wanderer passing through the town or maybe he too had moved on. Mr Frode imparted the most invaluable wisdom and for that she was grateful. When you embrace free will, every choice you make guides you toward the person you are destined to be, making it the right decision.

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