Optimal decision-making
Today, we are overwhelmed with choices. Yet our limited minds find it difficult to know what is best for us, and that leads to a constant underlying worry that we are not doing the best thing we could be doing, and questions such as: am I working at the right place?; am I with the right partner?; am I using my time in the best possible way?; etc.
The shadow of ‘opportunity cost’ is constantly lurking in the back of the mind.
Knowing the above, what is the best way to make decisions? The answer varies depending on your progress on the spiritual path:
- At first, the mind must consider many options, choose the seemingly best ones, and go for one of those. This is a very lengthy and complicated process, and the option chosen is always subject
to change and does not remove the underlying sense of uncertainty.
- For those on the spiritual path, at some point it becomes clear that the purpose of life is to be at peace and happy. This realisation makes decision-making much easier already, as each
decision is considered with that aim in mind. Every decision is now optimised to give you more freedom, let you hang out with the people you love, and allow you to have time for yourself and
explore deeper truths.
- Finally, every decision is surrendered to God. There is no more decision-making, just a receiving of the task ahead. This is the final embodied understanding, and with it comes the certainty of knowing that you are always doing the right thing at the right time.
All decisions you previously made should be focused towards this third and final aim, i.e. surrendering all decisions to God. This happens naturally when you know that peace and happiness do not come from the material world. In fact, the more spiritual freedom you have, the less material freedom you need. When every aspect of your life is surrendered in this way, the physical realm becomes a very flexible, ever-changing playground in which you observe Being endlessly manifesting Itself in a wide variety of forms.
