In my previous articles on Positive Attitude and How to develop it I have mentioned the power of choice a few times as a potent tool at each one’s disposal. I intend to elaborate the concept in this article.
Day in and day out we face various circumstances in life where we have to decide what to do almost as frequently as we breathe (metaphorically of course ;)). Now what this does is, it sets in a ‘decisional fatigue’. As a result, the brain simply starts making decisions owing to the decisions we’ve made in our past and old habits it has been recording on a tape from the time you were born. There is a reason why people say ‘Old habits die hard’. Nonetheless, research on the topic has also shown that via training certain parts of the brain can be rewired to replace old bad habits with new constructive ones. So, rather than letting our brain follow patterns of the past we can consciously start making decisions that would have a positive effect on us. I would reframe that as making better choices. Read How to Make Better Decisions for more help.
Each day we face many choices, the one we make is up to us and that designs our future. Life throws stimulants at us, the way we ‘respond’ is our choice. Whether it is as simple as to smile or frown at a nasty comment, to maintain calm or panic in a crisis, to get back with zeal or tiredness to a unsolvable problem, to take charge or to let emotions way us down, to forge ahead or to give up in the face of challenges. It is all about what we chose to do! Our past thoughts and actions, I would term them as ‘the choices that we made’, make us who we are today. Similarly the choices that we make today would determine who we become tomorrow. This simply means that we are the engineers of our own destiny. Don’t you think it is then imperative to take charge and construct a future that you desire? It sounds simple, but is it possible? Yes, it is! Read The Secret for deeper understanding.
If you’ve noticed I’ve mentioned ‘respond’ in the previous paragraph not ‘react’. This is because a reaction is an instantaneous action without any involvement of our cognitive abilities whereas a ‘response’ is a conscious choice that we’ve made. While responding we use our brain as a filter between the stimulus and our response. When I say use our brain as a filter, I mean using ‘the space’ between the stimulus and response. This space is where the power of choice lies. This space is varied based on the conditioning of different people. Nonetheless, it can be widened when the technique of exercising the power of choice is practiced. So, I say start today, reinvent yourself. Be the creator of a successful future.
In the next article, I would enunciate how you can use the power of choice. Keep reading!
This video by Steven Covey on The Power of Choice conveys a lot that could bring about a change in your perspective.
Cheers!
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