What Choices Are You Making?

“You will eventually choose one as your favorite,” said my old friend Jan Davis.I was out shopping for a new motorcycle. Jan is the owner of Hour Glass Cycles. He sold me my first BMW motorcycle back in 1996. I still remember how excited I was the day he delivered it. (A brand new red RT1100.)

What Are Your Needs Now?

Jan has been in the retail motorcycle business for over thirty years. He has seen and heard it all. That’s why I went to him and sought his advice.“How can I help you today?” he asked.I am looking for a bike I can use as a commuter. But it must have the performance to join friends riding the North Georgia twisties.Since he is a Triumph and BMW dealer, I rode the T120 Bonneville and the BMW F800. One had lots of character; the other was great but too plain vanilla.On New Year’s Eve day, I got a call from Jan. “I’ll give you a year-end deal and deliver the bike to you this afternoon,” he said.I didn’t buy the bike yet, but I asked Jan, “How do people with two motorcycles go about choosing which one to ride?”

My Lesson in Framing Decisions

He said, “You will always choose to ride the new one everywhere you go. Your old bike will just sit there. You’ll find yourself riding the new bike because it better fits your day-to-day riding—going to work, the barber shop and the bank. It’s just easy.”“But you’ll feel bad you’re not riding the Harley. So one day you’ll jump on it, and it won’t start. That’s the day you’ll decide to sell it.”I said, “That makes sense. I never understood how people chose when they had multiple motorcycles.”So he helped me frame my buying decision. I was deciding on the best bike for how I ride right now.I must choose one. We all must choose one. This is not just about transportation but every area of life.God or me.Work or family.Control or faith.Addiction or sobriety.Be served or serve.Revenge or forgiveness.Busyness or purpose.Stay or go.Remain quiet or share.Apathy or love.Talk or listen.Sit or stand.Life is all about choice. Not choosing is a choice too.And I thought I was only buying a motorcycle. Thank you, Jan.