Pick The Elephant

In an old episode of The Simpsons, young Bart wins a radio call-in contest. As the winner, he had the choice of receiving $10,000 or a full-grown African elephant. Clearly, he chose the elephant. Also clearly, it was an ordeal from start to finish. And yet, they didn't regret the experience. In fact, they loved Stampy and greatly enjoyed the experience. 

Today, I rented a 12-passenger van. 

My car was in the shop being repaired. I had stuff to do, so my friend and I went to the rental place to get a car. The woman behind the desk gave me two or three options of what cars were available, and I asked if there was anything else. She told me, "not unless you want a twelve-passenger van."  I looked at my friend and we both kind of smirked, and so I decided to get the van. 

This van was my elephant from the very beginning. The look on the woman's face was priceless. Listening to her actually trying to comprehend that one guy with no luggage and one friend was renting a giant van made me chuckle.

But you know what? That van drove like a boat on clear waters. It was large and cushy and smooth. The turning was different, and I couldn't really use my eyes to judge how far it was from objects, but I actually loved it. This was a new experience for me. It was done on a lark, and definitely gave me some stress and trepidation, but by 8 pm, my car was fixed, I returned the van to the agency without a problem, and I felt absolutely amazing for having had this experience. 

Sometimes, the better choice is the gag prize. Try picking the elephant, and see where that leads your life (or your characters).