As an expected college graduate this year, a good deal of my time has been dedicated to examining my potential future paths, (which is difficult considering I have almost as many career options as topping and flavor options at Suzy’s,) and for the past few weeks, my greatest struggle has been deciding where I want to be. I’m a creature of habit, after all. Never once have I strayed from my usual chocolate cup. The idea of breaking from routine, or establishing a new one, is intimidating!
“Don’t worry! There are only good options,” says my dad. Alright, maybe that’s true, but if I’ve learned anything from my time at Suzy’s, it’s that there may be an objectively best option (it’s chocolate with crushed Reese’s; sorry, not sorry.)
“You’ll do great regardless of where you end up!” That’s my mom, and she has a point. Hard work is a universal currency, and applying yourself to anything for long enough is bound to be noted positively. But I still can’t help worrying about how I’ll experience it; the fact that I’d survive adding 300 sour gummy worms to my cup doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy eating them all. (I’ve found the sweet spot is around three to five worms per cup anyway.)
No matter what kind of encouragement I hear, avoiding nervousness around big decisions is always hard. So what do I do?
Should I ask my parents for more advice? Yes.
Should I quit life and lock myself in a closet forever? Probably not.
How can I leverage my elite Suzy’s Swirler training in a time like this?
When I’m rational, the answer is simple. Big decisions are allowed to be scary, and paralysis around HUGE life or death moments is understandable. But just like choosing a yogurt flavor for today’s visit, picking an opportunity out of college isn’t always life or death. I can handle a year or two in a transitory living situation or a job that doesn’t fit quite right. It’s not what we’re stuck with forever, it’s not the end of the planet (happy early Earth Day, by the way!), and it’s not over and done should the deal go sideways somehow.
Like yogurt, many of our scary decisions in life are actually lower stakes than we think. It’s easy to panic as we watch our time run out, (or witness our yogurt melt because we took too long adding crushed Reese’s,) but the reality is that I can always come back to Suzy’s and get my favorite thing next time! And if I dislike my career at the outset, there’s plenty of time and space to mix things up.
What I’m trying to say is this: don’t let your desire for the perfect cup keep you from trying new toppings. You can always come back in-store and try again next time! (We love our regulars most of all 😉)
You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen.
Michelle Obama