Choices. Everybody Wants Choices

I make a choice between various options and I am empowered. I made the choice. No one told me what to do. I told myself what to do – and I did it!

Businesses learned the principle of choice a long time ago. Give the customer the ability to choose between options and he is more likely to make a purchase and go away happy. The customer is empowered. Some companies have even set up ‘replicate companies’ to give the customer a choice. Prefer to shop at Company B instead of Company A? No problem.  The consumer goes away happy. It still leaves a smile on the corporate face. The money goes into the same corporate pocket.

Life choices often seem to be simply a matter of choice between various options. But not all choices in life are equal. Choices are determined by the information we use to make decisions. Choices are based on ideas, thoughts, words, pictures painted of the great life we desire. Not all ideas, thoughts, words, pictures are equal either. Some lift our lives up while others may sparkle and eventually if not precipitously, bring our lives down. 

Most of the information for our decisions is drawn from our circle of friends. That is, those whom we spend most of our time with. Studies show that you will become like the people you associate with. Your thoughts, income, interests, friends all dwell within a particular range of the company you keep. If you want to improve your life you are advised to associate with people who have already accomplished what you want to accomplish. 

Surround yourself with people who share similar goals in life. You have the highest possibility of success if you do. You have the slimmest possibility of success if you don’t. The right association helps us to get the right kind of thinking moving in our brains.

Trying picking up the game of golf. An Instructor once said that if you want to learn ‘how’ to do something right in golf the first words out of the Instructor’s mouth must be what he wants you to do not what he doesn’t want you to do. Tell the student what NOT to do and he will do what you don’t want him to do. It never fails.  Why? Because we focus on what we hear first. Get the right idea, right thought, right word, right picture impressed in our minds FIRST and we have a chance of moving toward it. 

The wisdom of the ages have said this all along. The great teachers of the Bible tell us to focus our thoughts on the highest prize in life, to reach for the prize. The highest prize? To become the person God made it possible for us to become. ‘Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise’. Things which are ‘true, honorable and right’. Decide who you will trust and TRUST in the wisdom of that Guide.

Perhaps making choices is not the correct starting place when we want to feel empowered and in control of our life choices. Step one is getting the right kind of information to help us get the right kind of thinking, the right kind of focus for our lives.

Making choices now becomes meaningful. Why? Because our choices are influenced by the person whom we want to become, the great prize we want to achieve. This sounds more meaningful than simply having an option. 

Choice should take us some place. Not just any place. Everybody wants choices. How about making the right ones that take us where we need to go?