Opportunity Cost - I should think less.

In accounting, there is this thing called opportunity cost. Basically, it is a measure of the benefits you give up by choosing to take a certain path. The benefits of the path you choose should (hopefully!) outweigh the opportunity cost that you had to give up.

This concept applies to pretty much every choice in life. Do I get a salad or a burger? If I get a burger, I give up the health benefits of that salad. If I get a salad, I give up the enjoyment of that burger...and I would definitely enjoy that burger. These choices seemed somewhat trivial growing up. I chose T-ball over ballet and then I chose horses over baseball. I guess those choices did have a last impact, but they were so much easier to make because I didn't think about it. I liked baseball better, so I chose it. I didn't think about how I would meet people in baseball and not get to meet people I would have met in ballet. I didn't think about how much more flexible and coordinated adult me might be if I had stuck with ballet instead. I just picked.

I wish it were still that easy, but the stakes feel higher.
I'm doing a mission's trip in Ireland this summer:
Benefits:
- I get to go to Ireland.
- God is going to work. I know it.
- I'm going to meet such cool people and build such unique relationships.
- SO MUCH ADVENTURE
- I get to go to Ireland and the adventure is calling my name. (These deserved two bullets)
Less: Opportunity Cost:
- I will get to spend literally a week with most of my friends and my brother.
- I'm missing an extended family camping trip with cousins I haven't seen in a long time.
- I was going to buy a car and work.

Both the benefits and costs have lasting effects on my life. There's a lot of pressure when we make choices these days. For me, I know God wants me in Ireland. I don't know why, but he does. Hopefully he'll let me in on it someday, but for now I rest pretty easy. When I start to stress about decisions I've made I just remember why I made them and I'm usually okay with it. I've found that for the most part, everything will work out in the end. That doesn't mean you should go try meth. I can't promise that's going to work out well for you.

I've just found that I make decisions much more complicated than they are. I should think less.