We Are What We Choose
There are things in life we don’t get to choose and then there are things we do get to choose.
We don’t get to choose our circumstances. We get to choose whether we want to rise above it. We get to choose how we rise above it. We may not have had a choice in where we came from, but we get to choose where we plan to go moving forward.
We don’t get to choose our feelings. We get to choose our thoughts that affect how we feel. We get to choose our responses, despite how we feel. We get to choose our attitude - do we embrace or do we deny your feelings? We get to choose to feel, let it flow through us and then let it go. This determines whether we overcome our feelings or let our feelings overwhelm us.
We don’t get to choose our talents. Talents are our potential, and most times, they come easy to us as they are gifts we are given and born with. We don’t choose our talents. We discover them.
Choices are what we decide to do with what we are given. Sometimes we have to make hard choices, and what we choose is what ultimately makes us.
When we look back at our life, what will matter the most to us is the choices we made to get where we are.
But without the benefit of hindsight, how can we tell if we’re on a path that we are meant to go?
We can only try our best.
The constant struggle of making right choices is real. It can be difficult to decide to take a risk or give something a shot if the odds are against it. It can be difficult to decide if something is right for us, more so if we do not have the experience to determine that. If we believe it is right for us, it is better to try and fail than to regret choosing not to try at all.
We can make excuses and not try. Or we can try your best to do what is right even if we make mistakes. But we cannot do both.
The perfect choice does not exist.
The truth in life is that we’ll all make choices that at some point, we could regret or realise may be wrong. We all have regrets. Even though we can try to redo it or make it right, we can’t undo all the things we have done. Call it a mistake, or a failure. Either way, it provides us with experience to teach us to be better. And each experience should help us gain the wisdom to minimise the number of mistakes that lead to regret by making better choices that work for us.
How will we make better choices?
Love is how we make the different choice. Love is what will make the difference. When we make our choices from a place of love, not fear, we will never be left alone in a place of darkness. What comes to light tends to be bright.
In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story. - Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
What questions can we answer to help us decide?
How will you use your gifts?
What choices will you make?
Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?
Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?
Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?
Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?
Will you bluff it out when you’re wrong, or will you apologize?
Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?
Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?
When it’s tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?
Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?
Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?
Q. Are you going to challenge yourself today to build a story worth telling - the story of your life?