OPTION vs. CHOICE
“Options give you possibilities; choices give you commitment. One lets you explore, while the other stands by you and grows with you.”
- Prakhar Jain
Hey everyone!
Today, we’ll talk about how choices are made through options and what the major difference between choices and options is.
Moving ahead,
To be precise, every choice begins with options. We can’t ignore options because they shape our choices. They give us the freedom to select something or someone we want to stay with.
As an observer, I have noticed that nowadays, people choose from their options and make a choice, but instead of standing by their decision, they crave something better. This leads them back to exploring more options and making another choice.
Here’s my question: Can’t we mould our choices into better versions, or can’t we mould ourselves into better individuals instead of constantly exploring new options?
I know many people reading this might think, “That’s our choice. We can do whatever we want.”
But based on certain observations, if you cannot rely on the decision you have made, how can you move forward?
Every day, every person, and every moment will bring change. If you keep searching for something better every time circumstances change, you might never experience inner peace.
On the other hand, if you have made a choice that grows and improves with you, staying with it can help you improve, learn, and evolve.
Perhaps the real question is not whether better options exist, but whether we are willing to make our choices better.
Sometimes, the answer isn’t to explore another option. It’s to invest in the choice we’ve already made.
Let’s explore the another perspective on same thing, being neutral I would state that,
If a choice is already 80% good, why abandon it for another option when some effort could make it better?
But there is an equally important question: what if that remaining 20% is something fundamental that cannot be changed?
An 80% good career might still be wrong for someone whose core values conflict with the work. A relationship might have many positive qualities but lack trust or respect. A business might appear promising but have fundamentally broken economics.
Therefore, the percentage alone cannot determine whether a choice deserves to be retained. The nature of what is missing matters just as much.
For a better understanding, imagine you have to take a flight to reach your destination.
You made a choice from several options, right? You had to decide which mode of transport to choose. Once you selected a flight, you still had options regarding which airline to choose.
Right?
Simply put, making a choice is in your hands. Once you choose a flight, you plan your journey around it. You don’t suddenly switch to a bus, car, or train without reconsidering your decision. You made your choice after evaluating the available options.
But here’s the interesting part.
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A flight takes you to destinations that might be difficult or impossible to reach directly by road or rail. It might cost you more, make you wait longer, or demand more planning, but it offers something the other options might not.
Now, let’s look at this from the perspective of human relationships.
Some people are like flights. They might require more effort from you. You might have to wait longer for them, invest more time, and make greater efforts to maintain the relationship.
But remember why you chose them in the first place. You saw something in them that made you believe they could help you reach a destination you couldn’t reach alone.
Then there are people like cars, buses, and trains. They might help you cover a few kilometres of your journey, and that contribution matters too. But sometimes, they expect you to keep choosing them simply because they showed up once, twice, or thrice.
They might count how many times they were there for you and expect you to return the favour by choosing them again.
But is showing up a few times enough to earn a permanent place in someone’s life?
And is someone who asks for recognition for every effort necessarily more valuable than someone who contributes quietly?
Remember, the people who genuinely care about you might never make you count how many times they struggled for you, waited for you, or had to change their plans because of you.
They don’t necessarily keep a record of their sacrifices to use them as reasons why you should choose them.
Not because their efforts don’t matter, but because their care isn’t simply a transaction.
However, there’s something we must not forget: even a flight has limitations. A destination matters, but so does the journey. And no matter how far someone can take you, the choice to travel with them must remain yours.
Because, ultimately, the question isn’t just who showed up for you.
It’s who genuinely helps you move forward, who respects your freedom to choose, and who stays without turning every effort into a debt you must repay.
In short,
Some people want to be chosen because they showed up. Others show up because they genuinely care, without treating your choice as a reward they are owed.
If I have to be poetic on this analogy I would write:
“ I made my choices, yet fell apart in options again.
I chose from options that made life feel easy.
As I grew, I noticed something strange.
People chosen from options
demanded validation.
People who came without being an option
demanded nothing.
They just helped me grow.
And then I felt,
They were thrones of roses,
and mud for the lotus. ”
- Prakhar Jain.
If you have read till here, question I would ask,
“Who stayed beside you when you had nothing to offer, and did you ever make them feel chosen the way they made you feel valued?”
At last,
No matter what the situation is, be the one who stands by others. Not just during their happiest moments, but especially when they are going through their lowest phases, facing struggles that nobody else can see.
Because happiness and success are celebrated by everyone, but when failure arrives, when everything falls apart, and when there is nothing left to celebrate, only a few choose to stay.
Be that few. Be that one.
Because anyone can celebrate someone’s victory, but standing beside someone in their defeat is a choice of its own.
Thank You,
Prakhar Jain.
