We Thought It Was a Good Choice
Many times, my husband and I have decided to go to Niagara Falls and Niagara on the Lake for our vacation. We were there for our honeymoon and have been back for several anniversary trips. We enjoy the ease of getting there and have discovered some beautiful places to hike, bike, and picnic in the area. We love the farm markets and quaint shops. And yes, we often do a few touristy things while we’re there, too.
One year, my husband surprised me with reservations for kayaking on the Niagara River. Kayaking had long been something we wanted to try. We would see others doing so along rivers and lakes closer to home and always comment, “That looks so relaxing and fun; we have to try that someday.” And so, we were excited about this adventure he planned for us.
The day arrived and we found the rental location. After a few quick lessons and safety measures were explained, we headed out. We kayaked upriver viewing beautiful homes on the hillside above us. Knowing we only had an hour, we turned around at our ½-hour mark and (much more quickly!) arrived back downriver.
About an hour after returning, and as we ventured on with our day, my husband said, “You know, I didn’t enjoy that as much as I thought I would” fearing I might be disappointed in his disclosure. Surprised, but relieved, I said, “You know, I’m glad to hear you say that because I didn’t either. I didn’t want to tell you because it was a great surprise. But, it was kind of boring for me.”
Sometimes, when we make a decision to try something new, we are disappointed with the result. It can be easy to say things like, “Dang, we could have spent our time – or money – doing (fill in the blank)” or “We really wanted to try ‘this’ or ‘that’; we should have done that instead.”
There will be times that something inherently good turns out not to be a good option for you. But, you would never know if you hadn’t tried it.
The next time you have a choice between two good things and aren’t happy with the one you picked, remind yourself, “I (or we) wouldn’t know if we hadn’t tried.” Make a choice to be happy for the experience. The alternative is to never make the decision leaving you perpetually disappointed thinking, “I wish I would have tried…..”
Finding out what you like - and, equally, what you don’t like - is how you discover what makes you the person you are.
We were both disappointed we didn’t enjoy kayaking as much as we thought we would. But now we know, and on our next vacation, we’ll try something different.
Like the helicopter ride we both want to experience.
Or, kayaking at sunrise to see dolphins instead of mansions.
Maybe we will kayak one more time after all.