Every day we are responsible for making many choices. We make choices about how we feel about everything and everybody.   When you lack money, what opportunity do you have? When you lack love, what choice do you have? When you require praise and recognition for your greatness, what choice do you have? That is what I am thinking about today. In all things, we have a choice, it is given to us when we are born, and our choices dictate the experience of our lives. It can be easy to forget. When things go wrong, our mind makes the choices leading to the current lesson. Our destiny is shaped in these moments, and we have to be responsible for it. Here are some thoughts on options and how they affect your life.

Choosing

For every choice, the opposite is always available. A negative to a positive, a yin to the yang of things. Here is a small list I read the other day.

This is a simple choice in dealing with all people and situations. No matter what another person does, you have this choice. Of course, you have this choice about yourself as well.

Choosing to laugh rather than cry.

You can look at all situations from a variety of directions. You can choose to look at the negative and cry or the positive and laugh. It is a choice that you will make each day, and it will color your life one way or another.

Choosing to create rather than destroy.

We build things up or tear them down, including ourselves and our precious self-esteem. All people have greatness within them, and it is up to you to decide to create from it or destroy it. You are in control of this. Take responsibility.

Choosing to persevere rather than quit.

This is a decision that we face in life from when we are children until we finally end life, hopefully in old age. To persevere and keep on trying our best to be what we are capable of. Or to give in and leave our passion and potential unfulfilled. Quitting can become a nasty habit if you aren’t careful. Perseverance is a talent.

I am choosing to praise rather than gossip.

It is just as easy to speak well of someone to talk negatively. Praise the people’s good qualities in your life to their faces and when they are not around. Gossip is poison to all involved. It is that chatter of a small mind. They are looking to tear someone down to build themselves else up. Praise all, and good things will come to you. It will start inside of you. Gossip and reap those “rewards.”

I am choosing to heal rather than wound.

This is a simple choice to be a force of wellness rather than destruction. All people have experienced pain, and your words and actions toward other people will heal or wound. The decision is all up to you. You don’t have to like everyone to approach them with a gentle understanding that heals rather than a harsh judgment that wounds.

Choosing to give rather than take. 

What you give in life is most often what you receive in the end. If you choose to steal then, people will take from you. The act of stealing will lead to something else being stolen. Give freely, and all things will come to you. Steal selfishly, and all will be taken away. That is the way the world works.

Choosing to act rather than procrastinate

The action is the key to success. All the planning in the world and great ideas are nothing without the effort to make it all happen. Do things, try things, experiment, and look for a way to thrive. Do nothing, and nothing will ever happen. Action destroys fear and enlightens knowledge. You will know!

I am choosing to grow rather than to rot.

If you do not practice your talents and hone them, they will rot like a garden that is not being tended. If things are managed and cared for, you can yield delicious fruit, or the vegetables will rot on the vine if left alone. You are the one making the decisions for your garden, and I am the best.

I am choosing to pray rather than curse.

It doesn’t matter if you are religious or not; the act of silent contemplation is vital to growth and self-understanding. I don’t believe it matters how you get to this space, but it does matter that you get there. Recognize a force behind all of life. The magic that makes hearts beat and love occurs. It is a choice of being grateful for and loving life or looking to blame someone for any perceived difficulty. It is your choice to curse God or the universe about the challenges in your life or be grateful for the lessons and growth that always result.

I am choosing to live rather than to die.

Whether we are truly living or not is a decision that we make each day. The activities in life are unimportant to me. It is the appreciation we have for the present moment that counts. If you are looking at the past, you are not here. If you are worried about the future, you are not here. If you are not here, then you are not alive. Be here, see what is happening, appreciate the challenges and people you see. Even evil people can teach a valuable lesson. Learning lessons are what life is all about because that is growth. Death occurs when change doesn’t exist.

There are some choices you have every day. We are all responsible for the choices we make, and they are reflected in the value of our lives. The power is all inside you by making a choice each day.

“When you make a choice, you change the future.”
― Deepak Chopra

“Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep, for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as the latter.”― Paxton Hood.

“What you choose also chooses you.”
― Kamand Kojouri

“You are creating through your choices, even now. Choose wisely.”― Bryant McGill.

“Faith is life, knowledge is death, and choosing the correct one is wisdom.”