The Power of Choice

Choosing Your Orientation
My accountability partner and I were talking the other day about the mountains we’re trying to move in our lives and careers. It seems like we’ve been getting plenty chances to exercise the real power that we have in each situation that we’re facing on a daily basis… the power of choice.

She likes to say that she’s choosing her orientation. I like that. It reminds me of the glass of water metaphor – about how both observations that you can make about the water level are true: the glass is half full, AND it is half empty.

We have the power of choice in our perception about the glass of water, just like we have the power of choice in our perception about most things in life.

The glass and the water are what they are, and we project our judgement on them. So too are the challenging things that happen. They just are what they are, and we choose our orientation to them. We choose what we believe about them.

Mind Mastery
When I’m paying attention and realize I have the power of choice, it’s usually when I’m asking myself, “What would I choose to believe about this situation? And is it helpful?”

You might want to call it “looking for silver linings,” and maybe that’s what it is. You might even accuse me of being optimistic, and you would probably be right. I do tend toward a high level of optimism in my point of view, though more often than not, I’m actually being cautiously optimistic.

But looking for silver linings and being optimistic isn’t what exercising the power of choice is really about. Looking for silver linings is actually a result of exercising the power of choice. That’s because you can use the power of choice to wire or rewire your brain and become someone who looks for silver linings if you want to.

The power of choice is really about mind mastery. It’s about raising awareness. What are you consciously choosing as your orientation? Do you like what you’re choosing? Is it helpful?

When Stinky Stuff Happens
Here’s an example of what I mean…

Let’s say you get fired from my job. And by the way, I have gotten fired from a job before, so I’m relating to this example personally!

Anyway, let’s say you get fired, and you think it stinks. You’re not happy about it AT ALL. And it doesn’t matter if you’re at fault or not. You’re going to feel stuff, and you think it stinks.

Maybe you’re angry, shocked, even hurt. And all those feelings are valid. Your perception is totally valid because when you’re fired, you’re thrust into a scary place of ambiguity. How will you get money now? What if you run out of money?

You might have had the worst job in the world, and although you might have been thinking that you can stick it out for a little longer, yikes, here you are out of work. Or let’s say you loved the job. Even worse, right? Either way, the choice seems to have been taken away from you. Someone else chose this for you. All you can choose is your orientation to the situation.

And, of course, the inner victim that lives inside your head doesn’t help matters, but it can’t help itself – it needs to weigh in. It has to say stuff like, “See? The glass is half empty.”

Choosing What’s Helpful
Okay, fast forward. Let’s say some time has passed. The shock has worn off a little. Yes, time can be a useful tool for shifting perspective, but an even better tool than time is when you use the power of choice. When you remember that you have the power of choice and then actively choose your orientation to this event, you see how you can choose what is most helpful to believe.

For example, you can choose to believe that you’re a fool for having trusted the employer. Is that helpful?

Well, it might be helpful to the inner victim – you know, to keep it alive and all. It loves to see the glass as half empty, and it loves to play the blame game.

But try telling a potential employer about how you feel about your last employer’s betrayal of trust. See if that helps you get hired.

Anyway, what I’m saying is that choosing to believe and, therefore, to operate in the world as if you’re a fool for trusting an employer is NOT helpful.

On the other hand, there are other more helpful choices that you might make instead.

Such as:

• You can choose to believe that the employer has done you a favor. If you didn’t like the job, now you can use all your time, energy, and focus on finding a job you’ll like much better.

• You can choose to believe that because of the experience, you’ve learned something valuable, and you can allow yourself to see how you’ll do things differently next time.

• You can choose to believe that whatever doesn’t serve you should absolutely fall away and that the old job doesn’t serve you anymore. It’s time for a job that will. Maybe it’s time to give serious consideration to a new direction you’ve held yourself back from taking… because of that old job.

I could go on and on with more possibilities, but I’m sure you get the point… you have a LOT of choices for what to believe.

So, what is most helpful for you to believe in order for you to get what you want in life?

Remember, it’s YOU who has the power to choose.

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Angela Loeb is into self-development & personal empowerment, being awed by nature, writing, and being inspired by superhero stories.
http://angelaloeb.com
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