WINGING IT--OR NOT

“Sorry, (Hamlet) said, rubbing his temples. I don’t know what came over me. All of a sudden I had this overwhelming desire to talk for a very long time without actually doing anything.” (Jasper Fforde).

Some people just zigzag from indecision to indecision, and frankly, it drives me nuts! They constantly second guess themselves out of the responsibility of making a decision. I have a friend who can’t order a meal at a restaurant without changing her mind, and she can’t decide, when shopping for an outfit, if there isn’t a better one somewhere else. It is her modus operandi. She does not recognize that indecision might or might not be her problem. Constant indecision—second guessing oneself—can’t be good for a person’s innards!

The best example of indecision was in the award winning film, MARTY, adapted from Paddy Chayefsky’s play. The story was about a simple butcher from the Bronx (Ernest Borgnine) who didn’t know where he was in life or what to do to change it.  He hung out with like-minded fellows, and they met on the weekends to kill time. The famous dialogue went like this:
“What do you feel like doing tonight?” “I don’t know. What do you feel like doing?”

I am not an indecisive person. A few years ago, my friend, Judy called.She said, “I was listening to the radio. They had a contest. I called in and won two tickets to the Neil Diamond show in Phoenix. The radio show’s bus will be leaving in an hour. My husband is on jury duty. Can you be ready for me to pick you up in 20 minutes?” “You betcha!” said I.

I threw on some clothes, grabbed a flashlight to wave for “Coming to America,” and saw a spectacular show from the best seats in the house. It’s good to be able to deal with the unexpected—to be spontaneous.

There is a difference between being indecisive when you have all of the facts, and being too spontaneous before you have any of them.  That is being impulsive; “the sudden inclination to act without any thought behind it.” I know the difference. However, why not seize an opportunity when it is offered? Sometimes, the best memories come from spontaneity. However, being spontaneous involves risk.

Unfortunately, too often, our lives have become too predictable and programmed.  Jeremy Glass put it this way when he said, “We can’t jump off bridges anymore, because our iPhones will get ruined. We can’t take skinny dips in the ocean, because there’s no service on the beach, and adventures aren’t real unless they’re on Instagram. Technology has doomed the spontaneity of adventure, and we are helping destroy it every time we Google, check-in and hashtag.”

I’m glad I’m not indecisive. Sometimes, out of the blue, I will say something funny and it goes whoosh, over peoples’ heads. Then they will say, “What do you feel like doing tonight?’ and I will respond, “I just did it.”

Esther Blumenfeld    (“Humor is a spontaneous, wonderful bit of outburst that just comes.  It’s unbridled, it’s unplanned, it’s full of surprises.”) Erma Bombeck