Life is a continuous series of choices.

At every crossroads, people hesitate, wondering which path is correct.

Sometimes we later feel, “I’m glad I chose this.”

Other times, we regret our decisions and think, “Maybe I should have chosen differently.”

Shohei Ohtani has faced several life-changing decisions throughout his career.

First, whether to go directly to Major League Baseball after high school or join the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Second, choosing the Los Angeles Angels when he moved to MLB.

Third, selecting the Los Angeles Dodgers during free agency.

Even before those decisions, he had already chosen the unprecedented path of becoming a two-way player.

Any of these choices could have changed the course of his life entirely.

Most people would likely spend years wondering whether they made the correct decision.

But Ohtani sees things differently.

“I don’t think you truly know what was the right choice and what was a mistake until the very end of your life.”

He also added:

“If, at the end, I can think it was all worth it, then everything was good. And if I end up thinking it wasn’t, then maybe no choice would have worked anyway.”

It is a deeply philosophical way of viewing life.

People often become trapped trying to choose the “correct” answer before taking action.

But Ohtani’s perspective suggests that the real answer is created afterward — through how fully you commit yourself to the path you choose.

Since we can only choose one road, what matters most is not whether the choice was objectively perfect.

What matters is living in a way that allows you to say, without regret, “I’m glad I chose this path.”

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

Number 1094–1095