Unintended Consequences

Unintended Consequences

Or, the domino principle.  Have you experienced great surprise when you chose something, and not long after you see what else was affected by that change?  Sometimes it can be a good thing, but sometimes, it is a very VERY bad thing.  For instance.  I decided to finish my degree.  My university required that I was on campus for the last semester, which was in another state than my home, my family and my occupation.  All right.  I figured I’d have some things to change and take care of.  However. . . I met a man the first week I was in the new state.  Now, a year later, I am married.  That was a fabulous, but very unintended consequence of my decision.

Other times we aren’t so lucky.  We may choose to quit a job for a better opportunity, only to have that company suddenly go out of business and now we are without a job at all.  We may choose to change the filter in the dryer, but while pulling it out, drop in a screw which falls into the motor and now the dryer has to be replaced.  Because the dryer has to be replaced, we don’t have the funds to buy those tickets to the theatre, and hence we didn’t meet the new employer who had the seats next to the ones we would have purchased. . . and on and on.  Life is a series of decisions that touch each other, bump and nudge and effect everything adjacent.

When you make a decision, especially a major one, pause for a moment and consider what else this decision could affect.  It may be a delightful series of unintended consequences, or. . . it may not, but if we are aware, we won’t be caught completely by surprise.