“Life is full of choices.”

You’ve probably heard something like this before. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that our lives are so heavily influenced by decision-making, but we move from point A to point B by making choices every single day. I choose to get out of bed in the morning just like I’ve chosen to become a veterinarian. I choose to brush my teeth just like I’ve chosen to have a girlfriend. I say that this can be hard to believe because many of these choices are habitual. I don’t think about putting mustard on my hot dog; I just do it because it makes me happy, and I really like mustard.

A few years ago, I chose to work with animals for a living because it makes me incredibly happy. Becoming a veterinarian is a good decision on my part because I’m making a career out of something that I truly enjoy doing, but it’s a “tough” choice to make because my field of study can be very competitive. This is a fact, and, unfortunately, I’m reminded of this fact quite frequently. People often tell me that I’ve chosen a very difficult career to pursue, and if I’m having a bad day, these words can make me feel very pessimistic. What I often fail to remember is that I’m choosing to be pessimistic, however. This is where motivation often meets its end, and this is where many people begin to lose self-confidence.

Not too long ago, I was reading Man’s Search for Himself by Rollo May. In his book, May confronts a number of psychological issues that affected many Americans in the 1950’s. One of the most important issues that he chooses to address is how conformity was one of the leading causes of discouragement, pessimism, and even depression in the middle of the 20th century. Though the book was published in 1953, May’s claims are, certainly, still relevant to our own time. Earl Nightingale, a very well-respected author/speaker of the 20th century, later responded to May by asking, “Why do these people conform?" He then goes on to say that "these people believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances, by things that happened to them, by exterior forces; they’re outer-directed people.” So, in other words, when someone tells me that pursuing a career as a veterinarian is a very difficult thing to accomplish, I often become that outer-directed person. I allow their words to affect my own beliefs, and I conform.

With all of that said, I’m here to briefly remind my readers that conformity is a choice. This is the fact that is easily forgotten. Everything we accomplish in life is a direct result of what we are choosing to do, say, or think about. I’ve decided to become a veterinarian, and I’m choosing to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. If you want something, you have to decide for yourself if whether or not it's worth striving for. If your answer is "yes, of course, it is," then you're already halfway there.

Choose wisely.

"In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility." -Eleanor Roosevelt