Well, well, well . . .
How did you end up here? Did you ignore the warning? Did you calculate the risk? Did you hesitate at first or did you jump right in? The answers to these questions can tell you a lot about yourself.
The first time I saw something like this I slid my mouse over the link to see if it was live. It was. I wondered who would put a live link on their website that advised, “Do Not Enter,” but still let people choose to click it. I didn’t click, I even left the site. But that button kept bugging me. I returned to the site three or four times and each time, I passed my mouse over the link. Who would do such a thing? Where did it lead?
Eventually I fell for it. I took the bait. I clicked. Stop and think just how awful the consequences of my choice could have been. What if I had lost my whole computer? Come to think of it, what if YOU had lost YOUR whole computer? And for what? Just to satisfy your curiosity!
Next time you wonder how strong a motivator curiosity can be just remember this Do Not Enter button.
Somehow this all ties into one of my favorite things to consider – freedom of choice. I didn’t make you click here – you made that choice all on your own. Sure, I set up the opportunity but you made the choice.
That same scenario applies to so many areas of life – including horse training. When you train a horse well what you’re doing is teaching it how to make good choices. Allowing the horse to make good choices also means giving the horse the opportunity to make bad choices.
When I work my horses at liberty, when I ride with no bridle, my horses have tremendous freedom of choice. The mare Maggie can run away from Roxy and me instead of keeping close to our side, as I want her to. I give her that choice and when she chooses to run off, I make her work harder so that the next time she considers leaving, she’ll think twice, and probably make the right choice. My bridle-less horses could take off in any direction, but because I’ve spent much time and effort forging a cooperative relationship with them, they choose to be directed by my legs and seat.
If you live your life dedicated to learning, then your choices will get better as well. After all, I believe that freedom of choice is a gift from God. God even gives us the choice to choose him, or not. We can use it to learn or we can use it to do as we please. Each choice we make has a consequence, and if we pay attention, we’ll begin to recognize the patterns in the right choices we make.
So, you made a choice and clicked here today. Not a good choice or a bad choice in and of itself, but hopefully a choice you’ll learn a little something from. I hope you enjoyed this little detour in life and if this is the worst consequence you suffer for disobeying, then things won’t be too bad.
Please do me one favor though. After you leave this page, although I hope you want to tell your friends about it, PLEASE DON’T! What might be better would be to send them to our website. Just recommend the site, the home page. Then later, after they say they have visited, THEN ask if they were caught too.
Are you the first to click this? Nope…at last count this page has been viewed over 20,000 times!