THE POWER OF CHOICE

Have you ever noticed that some people regardless of the trials they are facing in life always seem to be happy and always in a good mood?  There are many who have learned that they have a power within them to be happy, no matter what they are facing in life.   They make a choice.

Choices are the most powerful force we have in our lives and ones we alone have total ownership of.  It is through our choices that our lives are lived, our paths are chosen and our circumstances are brought to pass.  Understanding this powerful force in our lives allows us to create the future we desire and deserve.

There are many of us who all too often blame others for our own bad choices and the difficult circumstances we find ourselves in.  While it is true that many of the challenges we face are created by the choices of others, the responsibility for our choices overrides anything that another can do.  I used to blame my sadness and unhappiness on my ex and her choices that led to the demise of our family, until I learned that in the beginning it was MY CHOICE to date her and marry her.  I invited her into my life and in that single act and choice of my own, I allowed the situation that then led to my sadness and unhappiness.  The feelings I felt and the sorrow that I felt were also MY CHOICE to accept them into my life. When I began choosing to take responsibility for my own choices, both the good and bad choices that I alone had made, I discovered a power within me to take control of my own life and stop letting others choices dictate my satisfaction and success in life.

This isn’t to say that I don’t struggle with the outcome and result from choices that others have made that have impacted my life directly, it does mean that I take responsibility for my choices in how it impacts me. I miss my children immensely, the choices of their mother impact my life on a daily basis.  At times the sorrow at not seeing them seems overwhelming.  When I feel the deep sense of loss and imminent despair, I remind myself of the simple rule that has taken me a lifetime to learn, I choose my own feelings.  I choose to be happy for my kids sake.  If I am despondent then what good am I to them?  The more I understand the power in choices, the more I refuse to allow anyone else to choose my happiness or sadness for me.  It is my life and I alone am in control.

There are some who will argue that we don’t choose our circumstances in life.  While on many levels this would be true, this isn’t about choosing what we have been born into, or sickness and disease, it is all about choosing what we are to become and who we are!  Regardless of our own personal struggles, we alone choose how we respond to them.  There is no one else who can make those choices for us. If we choose to break the law that takes us into a prison where we lose our freedoms, the original choice was ours and ours alone.  There are always consequences for our choices.  Choose wisely and we gain success in our endeavors, choose poorly and we create additional obstacles that limit what choices we are able to make.  Our attitude will always be our choice alone!

Sometimes we feel like we have no other choice, that circumstances require the choice we make.  Logically, this may be true, that the wisest choice is obvious and set before us, however the choice to act or not to act upon that logic is ours and ours alone. Every day of our lives are filled with choices, sometimes we even make the choice not to make a choice, regardless we have chosen inaction over action and we are responsible for that choice, or lack thereof.

Choices are one of the most powerful forces upon us in our lives.  It is through our understanding and mastering of this limitless personal power that will create the life we envision for ourselves.  When we take responsibility for our choices, both past and present we can take tremendous power over our lives and responsibility for ourselves.  We are in control of our choices and therefore over our own destiny and futures.   Our lives are a mirror image of the personal choices we make, what we see in the mirror staring back at us come from all the choices that we have made.  If we don’t like what we see, change how make your choices.