It

          Have you ever given it thought? I mean really thought about it? You’re probably asking, what “it?,” but does it really matter? Everyone has several big “its,” however, most of them do not get the thought that they deserve. Other things may be going on distracting from thinking about “it.” Or perhaps you feel too young to think about “it,” after all there are so many “its” facing the young at once. Perhaps you think that “it” doesn’t matter, or you didn’t know that you could think about “it”. You may not even think that “it” is up to you.  Maybe you think “it” just “is.”

          Well, sorry, but you are wrong. You need to think about “it,” whatever “it” is. Why, because it will have a permanent effect upon your life.  So you never thought that “it” was such a big deal – well, it is. But you still don’t know what “it” is. That is different for each person, but here are a few common ones: Education.  Career.  Major purchases.  Life partner.  Children.  Retirement.  Death.  That’s just to name a miniscule few.

          Let’s take a look at some of these. We’ll start with education. You are never too young to start thinking about this one. This does not mean college, even though for many that is a big part of it. Nor does it mean what your parents may or may not have planned out for you. This is about making the most out of whatever situation that you find yourself in for you.

I am not talking about the drivel about university graduates averaging a better salary. I am talking about maximizing the experience for you. This is best started by figuring out your individual learning style and using it to your advantage. Are you an auditory learner who learns best through hearing, or a verbal learner who learns best by reading?  Maybe you’re a kinetic learner who needs to be in motion to learn, or a hands-on learner who needs to do to learn? Whatever your learning style is, know it.  Use it.

Next:  What areas interest you? Mix studies of those subjects with ones that may not interest you as much in order to maximize learning. You may also try to actually link them together in activity to really learn them. Make sure to get the most benefit out of all of your learning.

If you have really thought about and acted accordingly on your education, then career choice should be easy. Granted, if you grew up and live in Idaho, it may be a bit more difficult to become a pro surfer; however, there are always things that you can do to give yourself a better chance of success. It is always best to have a back-up plan, and a back-up plan for your back-up plan.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest “it” is whether to have children.  Strangely enough, that one is probably the least thought out of them all. Some people do not realize that one can choose not to have kids. Many try to have as many kids as possible, as soon as possible, so that someone “has” to love them.  Well, your children don’t have to love you, just depend upon you for awhile. Having children is the biggest decision you can make. There’s no turning back, no oopsies, no mulligans, and no do-overs. Yes, you can do like a lot of social parasites out there and shirk your duties as a parent and become part of the disease. If you are going to bring a child into this world, you better be 100% sure that both parents not only want to at that time, but are prepared financially, emotionally, and physically. If both are not equally 100% ready, do not - under any circumstances - have a child.

Any decision that will affect you or someone else for more than 24 hours is an “it” and deserves your full thought and consideration.