My friend Lee told me about his first trip to Las Vegas about fifteen years ago.

“It was not long after my wife and I were married,” Lee said. “I was just 27, and very excited to be staying at a nice hotel overlooking the famous ‘Strip.’”

“But from the time we arrived, until the second day of our trip, my wife had been feeling under the weather and we basically remained shut in the room,” he continued. “Needless to say, I was chomping at the bit and had the biggest case of cabin fever ever.” 

Finally, the following morning, Lee’s wife was feeling better and they decided to go have breakfast. During the meal Lee expressed how eager he was to visit the different casinos and sights of the famous boulevard. They decided, with no agenda, they would just visit each resort and let fate take them where it may.

To prepare for the outing, his wife elected to wear high-heels. When he mentioned it was not a good idea because of the considerable walking, she became even more determined to wear them.

“We walked from one end of the strip to almost the other, and let me just say, her feet were hurting,” Lee remembered.

“Let’s get a cab,” Lee’s wife finally decreed.

Lee and his wife agreed before the trip that with a limited budget each would have a certain amount of quota cash they would spend each day.

“Needless to say, it was okay by me as long as she paid for the cab,” Lee winked.

I laughed and told Lee it reminded me of the time my daughter Jennifer and I went to hike on a trail of a nearby park when she was seven. She insisted on wearing high heels. After a bit of a debate, I gave in and chalked it up to this being a lesson she would have to learn. To my misfortune, it didn’t take long before I was piggy-backing Jennifer for a couple of miles because of her aching feet.

Lee and I had a good laugh about this and agreed that perhaps both of these quick stories represents many of our problems in life.

How many times do we make decisions on our appearance or what others may think of us (even total strangers) versus what is practical?

What percentage of our problems are self-induced and caused by our choices?

How often are we asked to bale others out, and we obediently comply, because of their hasty choices?