THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

I have always believe that success is a matter of choices, just like life… what will you do to earn a living? Where would you go to get your education? How much education will you get? Where would you live, what type of friends would you have? Who will you marry?

But what about probably the single most important choice, what kind of person will you become?

I have heard before that the only true freedom each of us have in life is the freedom to choose, and that once we choose we become servants of our choices. The true of the matter is that, once we make a choice, we turn a part of us into something a little different from what it was before!

I have never met a person that intentionally took the wrong path, each of us aspire to become something more, maybe something bigger, but the secret to achieve that, is based on the choices we make!

What are the key areas of your life that could help you become that person, that could help you become something more, something better?

Every day we are faced with choices in those areas, the decisions we make in those moments will help shape who we become, we can either take the high road, which sometimes happens to be a more difficult one, the road that goes uphill, that road that could help form us into that person we desire to become, or we can simply take the easy road, we inevitable will have to make that choice.

Some of us, unfortunately, or maybe even fortunately, have already made poor choices, I said fortunately because maybe, just maybe we took the time to reflect on those choices and we have learned from them, I would like to believe that the first time it was a mistake, and if we learned the lesson, then hopefully we would not make that same mistake again, however if we did not learn from it, and we ended up making the same mistake, then this time was by CHOICE!

My friend and mentor John Maxwell said that there are some key areas that can help us become the person we aspire to become, these areas are truly important in our lives, and every single one of them is based on choices…

Attitude is a choice, attitude makes the difference, never underestimate the power of positive attitude, those who see life with enthusiasm, see more opportunities and they understand that the circumstances may not be of the choosing but positive attitude is.

Character is a choice, what are you made of? Are you a person of substance? You can spend the day hoping for the sun to shine so that you look good. Or you can cultivate your character, growing it daily, inch by inch until it develops into that symbol of strength and stability, Character, you either choose to have it, or not.

Values are a choice, try not to become a man of success, become a man of value. I'm sure you have already made choices about your values, you may even have weighted carefully and acted upon with intentionality, others you have made without any conscious thought and you live them by default, when we love something it is of value to us, and when something is of value to us, we spend time with it, enjoying it, taking care of it, perhaps is time to conduct a value audit in your life.

Integrity is a choice, the quality of being consistently honest, having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. Integrity is doing the right things, upholding moral values even when no-one is watching, is adhering to the code of principles to which you choose to live by. Integrity, like character and ethic, you either have it, or not! you choose!

Commitment is a choice, commitment is a promise to do something, specifically in the future, is a choice to do or to give something, is a personal pledge to ourselves. One half of knowing what you want, is knowing what you must give up before you get it – S. Howard.

Passion is a choice, passion is the first step to achievement, and commitment naturally follows. Passion increases will power, it changes lives, it changes you, and it makes impossibilities possible. If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life – Confucius.

Growth is a choice, Your life begins to change when you change something you do every day – J. Maxwell.

If you are to succeed in your growth, then you need to know where you are starting from.

There are 4 phases of development (K. Blanchard) – Enthusiastic beginner, disillusioned leaner, capable but cautious and self-reliant. Find the people you need to assist you during your current phase of growth. Invest in yourself development so others may invest in you, because success is a matter of personal choice.