"Sometimes you just have to make hard choices in your life."
We expect to hear a statement like that from a CEO or COO facing the decision to reduce headcount in a company. We understand someone saying that when they decide to turn down a promotion in order to care for a family member. We don't expect a comment like that from a baseball-loving nine-year-old as he makes a life-altering decision that few adults would want to face.
Gordon Graham says that, "Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight. . ." Nick Nelson's tough decision gives literal meaning to that statement. While other kids were busy deciding how to beat the next level on Legend of Zelda or Halo, Nick faced the decision to have his right leg amputated in order to be free from a physical defect that would forever inhibit his ability to walk, play, and engage with life like his peers.
All decisions involve some level of uncertainty and risk. A good decision-making process tries to minimize risk by selecting criteria, weighing the importance of the criteria, and then using that criteria to evaluate the options available. Young Nick Nelson looked at what was important to him in life and decided that the possibility of running with a prosthetic leg was a better option than his current reality of struggling to walk with a leg that would never fully straighten or support his weight. On October 10 his right leg was removed.
If you missed the segment about this inspiring young man on this morning's Today Show take a moment to watch it. Matt Lauer's conversation with the Nelson family will give you new courage for the next touch choice you face and Nick's story will give you at least one more reason to be grateful during this Thanksgiving holiday.
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