1. The thought “It doesn’t matter because I am so insignificant in this enormous universe. No one cares what I choose; no one cares about me.” Do you not care what happens to you? Your future is determined by your choices, so they are of great personal significance. You have shaped your life and your body by the choices made in previous lives. If you wish that your past selves (or younger self) had cared more about your current self, you can at least make the effort now. Please care about yourself! You are a child of God, no less than any other.
2. There are consequences to every choice. Some assume that the only consequences are from human justice, and if you can evade that, you have no consequences. I feel sorry for people who believe this. They have not only failed to learn from many lifetimes of karmic consequences; they have more unpleasant “reapings” ahead to teach them. You can’t really “get away” with anything. There is always a witness that will hold you to account. That witness is yourself. And the law of karma is fulfilled to the last speck, unlike human law.
3. “I can’t choose any differently; my choice is pre-ordained.” No divine being, local or cosmic, can predict what you will choose; they can only know the future in terms of probabilities. Sure, they can make a good guess, almost certain to be right. But even great beings far beyond human are puzzled by human choices. We often choose the worst option! Some aspects of your future are “written in the stars,” but you still control the timing.
4. “I am ignorant, I don’t know enough to choose.” The ONLY way we grow is by making choices and experiencing the results. We find out soon enough whether we made a good or bad choice. And we learn from either one, especially a decisive choice. Our choices are experiments.
5. “I am afraid of making a bad choice.” Letting fear be the main factor in your choices gives too much power to negative imagination. You learn from either choice, so “analysis paralysis” is just a waste of time and frustrates anyone the choice affects.
6. “I have turned my will and choices over to God.” This is not easy, though wonderful if you can really do it. Too often, this means turning your choices over to so-called representatives of God, which is almost always a mistake. Only the God within you can be trusted with this power, and you ultimately find that you are one with this God. You have turned your will over to the highest version of yourself that you can reach.
7. “Does it matter who I choose to be my partner?” Of course it does, picking a partner with little consideration usually leads to a painful life experience. This choice is strongly affected by forces bigger than the individual: factors of destiny, karma, and group relationships. There is both the karma that brings you together and the karma created by the relationship. There is rarely only one perfect partner for someone. Different kinds of karma can be fulfilled by different people. Karma or not, it is still an important choice. Get to know the person well, beyond the rose-colored glasses of love.
8. “My choices create karma, which I don’t want, so I will just let myself be swept along by the tide.” Every chance to help another person, to be generous or loving, passes you by when your choice is not to choose. So the chances to be loved and included, valued and respected, also pass you by. What is left of you then but an empty shell battered by the waves, destroyed by forces that a simple choice could have saved you from?

You will reach the goal of freedom from human limitations eventually, no matter what you choose in this moment. Persistently bad choices can only delay your progress. But don’t underestimate the joy and freedom you are reaching for. Don’t underestimate the tedium of life in a world of suffering when you know that you can leave it behind. The effort to transcend is well worth it!