This is not some great epiphany that I’ve had or something that is entirely nouveau. Frankly, I’m not even sure if it’s something that I want to be part of my philosophy in life, but here it is-our life is made up of choices. We choose what we would like to eat; we make choices about the clothes we wear; we choose the people we become friends with; we choose whom we date and, (you can totally rebuttal) we choose to be happy. We make decisions every single day consciously and subconsciously. Thing is, the choices we make aren’t always cut clean. They’re not always easy to make. So, how do I make them?

I wrote a reflection a few months ago based on an article asking, “what are you willing to struggle for?” In it, I talked briefly about persisting despite feeling pain or encountering difficult obstacles and how we can use pain to fuel our drive to create. Now, perhaps because I have been reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, Big Magic, I have a completely different question to ask. Though it might sound similar, I want you to think about how this question is vastly different-what are you willing to fight for?

To, struggle or to fight-that is the question. Ever since I can remember, I somehow would make choices that could make my life just a little bit harder. I know, this sounds odd but wait a second. By that I mean, you can use a calculator to solve a long division equation or you can actually do the long division on a piece of paper and solve it yourself. To some degree, I may have taken Robert Frost’s poem to heart too literally, but then again I wouldn’t be here if I chose differently. I’m telling you this because even though there have been many times, and probably more when I will be required to struggle, I will always choose to fight.

I’m telling you this because even though there have been many times, and probably more when I will be required to struggle, I will always choose to fight.

Yes, there have been times when I would refuse to fight back because I don’t necessarily think that fighting every battle would be entirely beneficial. I prefer to pick my battles and fight to win the war. This is where I see the difference between ‘struggling’ versus ‘fighting’ for something. To struggle for something almost makes it seem like you are constrained by something else; something is preventing you from breaking free. Whereas, for me, fighting for something is a conscious choice made. You know that when you fight for something, there will be obstacles and great uncertainties. You might even feel miserable for some of it. Yes, all of that is true. They just don’t matter as much.

You know that when you fight for something, there will be obstacles and great uncertainties. You might even feel miserable for some of it. Yes, all of that is true. They just don’t matter as much.

So, what are you willing to fight for?

Always,

–K