Concept Maps of Life

The book title that inspired this is “The Road Less Travelled” by M. Scott Peck.

SoCS

 

 

 

 

Taking a particular road, is always a deliberate choice.

The busiest highways of life are so densely populated, due to the perceived security of being in known territory. But known to whom? The travellers are stepping on that ground for the first time. They trust the experience of others who have preceded them. We seek traffic updates from people who are moving ahead of us, or from a GPRS/satellites/drones watching the road from above.

Here, we operate with different mind-sets:

1. Follower

One is to believe that the experience of people in the close vicinity benefits us. This is what we do, when we accept guidance from others with gratitude, or conform to the norms laid down by our ancestors or mentors.

2. Student

Another is to believe in an entity, which is detached from the field of action, and is an independent observer. We study the works of experts (scientists, analysts and philosophers), and try to equate their observations with our experience. Here, the expert is viewing the same reality as that of our co-travellers on the road, albeit from a distance, and deriving conclusions by applying their own logic to it.

These experts could comment on the environment of both the roads, not necessarily the busy one.

3. Explorer

The third option is to tread a path, not explored or less explored by others. No data or evidence of good or bad is available on the subject. A fear of the unknown could hold us back, or a love for adventure could propel us. We accept the uncertainty, and open ourselves up to a new experience. We also open ourselves up to failure. People could read about an accident on a hazardous path tomorrow, or flock there to salute a trailblazer. The road might not remain the one less travelled.

4. Leader

Yet again, do we wish to travel on the road less taken, and share our experiences with the world later? Do we wish to be a leading driver on the road, but on a less populated route? Do you wish to establish your leadership in a new domain?

5. Ascetic

A few might say that they want to experience it for their own sake, and then disappear into oblivion. That is the path of the ascetics, the yogis who do not return to the world they once lived in.

6. Nailed by determinism

What happens, when there is only one way ahead? This situation is often created by those who desire to dominate and control.

It could also be a deterministic mind-set.

the doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes regarded as external to the will. Some philosophers have taken determinism to imply that individual human beings have no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions.

Source: Wikipedia

Will the path be accepted as inevitable, or will one take the trouble to construct a new road? The physical and mental resources within reach, will determine the same.

7. Choosing not to make a choice

The choice of turning back, or to stay rooted at the same place emanates from a need for security and self-preservation. This is not entirely a regressive or negative mind-set. People do it to protect their livelihood, or health or physical safety.

It is about surviving, not thriving or decimating. It may also be to survive long enough, to move ahead later. It may be to take the time to reflect, and then, make a choice. It can be a suspended state of animation, not stillness or decay or death.

SUCCESS AND FAILURE

So, all choices in life are ultimately about the following

• Anticipation of success or failure
• Calculated risk on the probability of success or failure
• Acceptance of varying degrees of success or failure

Success and failure are both relative terms. One slides back or forth on a continuum, and the judgemental remarks of others, emanate from a relative position of expectations.

We exercise a choice of taking a particular road, based on

• what we look forward to doing,
• what constitutes a comfort zone for us.
• what we expect to encounter on that road.
• how connected we are to our external environment
• the level of alignment between our internal and external environment.

 

THE ULTIMATE RESULT

The ultimate result of all these choices is where we find ourselves today. We have created our sense of self, our identity and our station in life, after making these choices one at a time. It did not feel phenomenal at that point of time, but formed a complex maze, throwing us about in different directions, and finally landing where we are.

Yet, this is not final. This is not the end. There are choices ahead.