Everyone faces some type of “crossroad” in their life. Facing a crossroad can be very overwhelming and can cause anxiety. One of the most complicated tasks any of us will face in life is the concept of making the right decision. Every few seconds we have the opportunity to change our lives, our family lives, our careers and our well-being. By having this seemingly great opportunity to affect our lives in many different aspects can seem very promising. On the other hand it can be an enormous weight on our shoulders, because our lives and our families can be forever changed based on the decisions we make when we face a crossroad.
The small decisions are simple. You may not even notice you are making them, for example if you’re hungry you might stop at a local fast-food restaurant to grab a bite to eat. This act is probably a regular occurrence for many of us and does not require much thought. Our brain has an efficient way of going into auto-pilot on tasks we deem to be insufficient. On the contrary “crossroads” are the decisions that you can’t go into auto-pilot with that may require deep thought and detailed analysis. When you don’t know how the outcome will affect you and making such a large decision based on your gut or intuition may be the only option. These decisions are usually where the only help others can give you is common sense like “Do whatever makes you happy”. Attempting to control, manipulate or force things to happen is a typical response to the fear that comes with change. Some of us are so fearful of change that we refuse to make a change without understanding that even if we choose not to make a decision or take action, this in and of itself is a choice.
This can become problematic because life is all about changes and moving forward. We all know, deep within ourselves, what we need to do what we know during times of change or crossroads we may face. We can learn to access and trust our innate wisdom; it is personal and always available. Through this, we will know how to adjust our course, move toward our personal destiny. When we don’t follow our inner guidance, we feel a loss of power and energy.Life’s crossroads create opportunity for us to choose between different options, and when we see someone embracing the moment when choices are decided upon, it can be awe-inspiring. A crossroads is about change. Choices must be made not just when things are not working out as we had planned, but also during positive moments when we must choose to continue the course or veer off into something new. When we experience an ending relationship, a change in careers, political upheavals, or challenges with our health, the crossroads we find
Have you ever found yourself in a position where all you have worked toward is right in front of you, but instead of a simple black and white decision you were presented with a handful of options? Comment below how you made your decision and what was the outcome.
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Jay Colby 
I was finally offered what I thought was my dream job. But it turned out although it was a dream job, the boss was anything but a dream. More like an unethical nightmare! I trusted my gut and turned it down. A year later the guy was fired and I re-applied and got it!
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You surely encounter all kinds of crossroads in life, some with big and some with small results and changes! Great topic 🙂 I have found myself making big changes location and job wise in my life but have decided not to regret them but to move on from them if things doesn’t work out. So far I have been lucky and have learned a lot. Standing still gets scarier in my opinion and trusting your gut feeling is usually an ok way to go 🙂
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This was a great post! I particularly liked, “When we don’t follow our inner guidance, we feel a loss of power and energy”, couldn’t be more true. We should always follow our heart, even if it isn’t the easiest road to take. Love your writing!
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That’s what resonated with me the most as well! I truly believe in listening to our “gut feeling” and ignoring it only makes decisions harder in the future.
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I had to choose between two friends who didn’t like each other but both liked me. I chose to spend certain days with each friend. But when a girl asked me to hang out with them the friends who i was with got upset. Then i remember telling someone and my friends said they didn’t know how stressed i was getting. So they both made friends with each other! ☺
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I’m the WORST decision maker. I need to be better about making clearer decisions. Great post.
xx, Lauren {www.rosesandrainboots.com}
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Great post….
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i hate being broke. Current problem
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Life is all about decisions!
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You’re my hero!
You blog on everything I need to encourage myself at this moment when I’m faced with a great challenge!😭
Continue inspiring and motivating people!
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Hey so beautifully written and so true life is all about making proper decisions.
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Thank you!
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I currently struggle with this the understanding of what it means to actually be at a crossroad in my life I completely agree with the article in that life goals should always end in a path that makes you more happy. It may not be easy but doing what makes you happy it’s more sustainable in the long run at least that’s what I’m trying to convince myself of. Thanks for sharing..
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I completely understand going through crossroads in life can be difficult. But doing what makes us happy will be the most beneficial to us in the long run. Thanks for reading and commenting!
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😳 wow!!
Great 👍 topic.
And so true and real .. your statements..
Yeah changes and decisions can very scary and hard to do..
it takes courage to take a chance on the unknown.. ..
Love ❤️ your definitions and your solutions..
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Thank you I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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I used to get bogged down when at crossroads because I tried to play out scenarios in the future (if I do X, then that will result in Y…)
Now, when at a crossroad, I realize that my role is to do the next, right thing and allow the end to play out as it will/can. It is so freeing.
Great post, thanks!
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That’s a great way to look at crossroads. Thanks for sharing & reading!
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Jay, i love your posts. You write so well.
I do think when we hit a cross road it is important to see the opportunity.. and not get overwhelmed or thing oh no.
Great post
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You make a great point. Thank you so much for your kind words!
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Great write! I relate to this so much! I hope you’ll read my blog as well!
rachelsbog.wordpress.com
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Thank you!
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I choose to go straight you never know where the straight n narrow may lead you!
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Great point!
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I read and reviewed The Sun is Also a Star, a YA/Teen book recently. It had the choices we make as one of its themes. It dealt with the big crossroads, but also with the little decisions we make every day that alter everything else in its wake. The view was that there are multiple possible universes depending on those little decisions. It was an interesting approach to thinking about life. Personally I find my most difficult crossroads are in response to the things other people in my life do or decisions they make. I try to make good choices based on Biblical principles and prayer. I wish I could say that all of my decisions are perfect, but of course they are not or they have unintended outcomes. Regardless, I always try to make lemonade out of lemons!
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I tend to agree that sometimes what we would consider to be “little decisions” affect us more than we think. This is common that’s why it’s important to keep people who have our best interest in mind. Thanks for reading!
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I HATE making decisions, I really do. I try and just go with the flow, but life does throw us these obstacles and put us in these situations where we have to make decision, some of them crucial. Over the last 18months, I have had to make some huge decisions and changes in my life and I think that’s why now, I don’t enjoy deciding. I could either just say yes to everything and see where that takes me…say no to everything and see what happens, or make some dramatic change in my life that could leave me decision free for a while.
Guess it’s all part of growing up and older really…
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Having encountered three such crossroads like those you mention in the past three years, I appreciate the wisdom you express, especially coming from someone so young. Making the right decision doesn’t necessarily get easier as we age, but you nailed it. I believe that, whether we recognize it or not, joy is a constant. Happiness is subjective to our choices. We learn in time what can make us happy and what might not. Great post, Jay.
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Thank you for reading!
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Crossroads happen on the daily, but I always listen to my gut and luckily my parents raised a girl who is smart… So I generally always make the right decisions! 😉
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But is our inate guidance all we have ? For someone like me this is quite difficult to pay attention to. I choose to rather study the situation and then respond with the best possible choice, because our minds sometimes play tricks on us … Nice read.
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Great insight thanks for reading!
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great post..that’s what a friend said to me one when I couldn’t decide. He said in life you need to have the choice of deciding and if you don’t decide it is a choice in itself . This piece reminded me of him.
I quit my dream job this year due to conflict . Part of me regret that I should of hanged out a bit longer. Part of me is moving forward in my new job learning three new softwares that will aid me in looking for another job if need be.
It also showed me that an old dog can learn new tricks .
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Reblogged this on Faith.Hope.Love and commented:
My Weekly Featured Blog: Life’s Crossroads written by Jay Colby.
(A thought provoking blog)
“Everyone faces some type of “crossroad” in their life. Facing a crossroad can be very overwhelming and can cause anxiety. One of the most complicated tasks any of us will face in life is the concept of making the right decision. Every few seconds we have the opportunity to change our lives, our family lives, our careers and our well-being. By having this seemingly great opportunity to affect our lives in many different aspects can seem very promising. On the other hand it can be an enormous weight on our shoulders, because our lives and our families can be forever changed based on the decisions we make when we face a crossroad.”
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Reblogged this on tout est possible and commented:
Interesting and deep thinking post!
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Currently I am in a crossroad . I wish this phase end and may the best happens !
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I really like your statement, “When we don’t follow our inner guidance, we feel a loss of power and energy.” That means a decision will energize us. Perhaps a lack of energy comes from a lack of change, and not the other way around. If we take that initial leap – make that choice – then the motivation will follow. Thanks for your wisdom!
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Great work Jay 👍🏽
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Thank you!
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Wonderful,a must read
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Great post about life’s crossroads Jay! I’ve had my fair share of decisions to make and not all of them have turned out in my favor. It is times like those that I wish I could see the future.
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I make a lot of decisions but it’s the crossroad from decision to action is where I get stuck a lot.
Then when I finally act there is this small voice of doubt that plays in my head telling me it was the wrong one.
It feels good to be at a point in my life that I’m now making decisions to help myself and others grow.
I’m no longer paralyzed by the fear you talked about.
Life is about changing, growing and living with the decisions we make.
Great post!
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Crossroads are usually made out to be some grand event or huge decisions in our lives, when in reality, they only become large and hard decisions to make when we’ve ignored our inner voice. I was in a relationship for many years and although in my gut I felt as though the relationship wasn’t right for me, I stayed in it. Had I made a decision to leave and stay gone when I felt it originally, it would’ve been easier. The best thing we can do is to act on what’s right.
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