I recently had some counselling, and one thing the therapist spent a long time talking about was
self-agency. It was something of a revelation for me. I realised I had essentially been drifting along in life for a long time, allowing decisions to be made for me and avoiding conflict wherever possible. He described self-agency as like a muscle that needs to be exercised, even in small day-to-day ways.
A sense of self-agency seems to be fundamental to good mental health.
>> Me personally, I have just one regret in life: that I didn't rob a bank when I had the chance.
Oh come on, you can't just leave that hanging there. Hope you can share the story without incriminating yourself!
EDIT: Great story, and for what it's worth I think you probably made the right decision. It could easily have ended up being the story of how a bright kid had his prospects ruined over the theft of 20 cents, because of the bank's "we always prosecute" policy and an over-zealous legal system.
A sense of self-agency seems to be fundamental to good mental health.
>> Me personally, I have just one regret in life: that I didn't rob a bank when I had the chance.
Oh come on, you can't just leave that hanging there. Hope you can share the story without incriminating yourself!
EDIT: Great story, and for what it's worth I think you probably made the right decision. It could easily have ended up being the story of how a bright kid had his prospects ruined over the theft of 20 cents, because of the bank's "we always prosecute" policy and an over-zealous legal system.