Choosing means giving up? You hear it, you accept it, but you're wrong! Let me explain...
I decided to question this well-worn phrase. Not choosing might seem like a way to keep all options open, but it’s actually an implicit choice to let circumstances or other people decide for you.
Let’s simplify with an example and some context to avoid tautologies and sophisms.
Let’s take a central example: choosing a career—a domain where the implications of both choices and non-choices are particularly significant. And indeed, this is one of the most common contexts where this phrase is used.
We’re looking at this question from the perspective of a professional goal and the desired outcome.
Inevitably, regardless of the circumstances, a situation or a state will materialize:
- You will actively choose a career.
- You will end up in a career you didn’t consciously choose.
- You won’t have a career at all.
Could not choosing lead you to a career you didn’t choose?
Yes, that’s where we often end up, though thankfully not always. In most cases, you’ll end up making a choice later, which means many other options will have become harder to access along the way.
That’s right—at some point, you’ll have to follow a path and make a choice, unless you decide to take several months “off” and do nothing.
This leads us to a related issue: the problem of “open doors,” which I’ve already discussed in several articles.
And yes, because not choosing also means not engaging in a process of evaluation and exploration that could at least confirm whether you’re on the right track.
I’ve encountered plenty of computer engineers, law students, or medical students who hit the brakes in their second year. Even PhD candidates sometimes ask themselves, “How did I even get here?”
When it comes to a career or any kind of activity, not choosing is therefore nonsensical.
Choosing or not choosing, depending on timing, simply has different effects and costs.
Both are part of the same process but not the same action. The difference lies in how we perceive them and how we justify them.
What do you think?
