CHOOSE choice

by coffeesister on 28 May 2008

You chose to stop by & I thank you! I chose to write & you may even thank me. :wink: Our gratitude is for each other’s choices, if also for each other.. It’s choice for which we should be thankful & no doubt assume we are. Are we using our choices, though? Like gratitude & love, to be effective, choice needs to be proactive. Choices alone don’t bring about results &, left alone, still lead to change but not of our making. We have to own our choices, appreciate them.

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want,
and all that is left is compromise.”

~ Robert Fritz ~

“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it,
that is in itself a choice.”

~ William James ~

Decisions DecisionsWhat we do or don’t do with our choices affects the next set of possibilities we create. How empowering is that?! Not only are there any number of possibilities available to us at all times but we can change them up, often increasing our options in the process, with each choice we make. The choices we make passively — through inaction or hesitance — change up the mix too. Wouldn’t you rather choose the direction your choices are taking you?

“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back,
and choose the path that leads to wisdom.”

~ Buddha ~

“Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible.”
~ Cherie Carter-Scott ~

Fear of failure is a natural inclination & the typical cause of hesitation. Whereas hesitation can be prudent, make sure it’s by choice & not a result of being afraid to act. Life choices require planning thus slow & steady will bring those larger choices to fruition. During the process, there are day to day choices that can support the larger one. Brett, who I’ve mentioned, has taken such a journey on & the comment thread his announcement inspires covers great ground.

“I chose and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not. You have to move on.”
~ Stephen Sondheim ~

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”
~ Denis Waitley ~

Choices factor into everything we do, how we feel & how we feel about what we’re doing. Turning a blind eye to anything but the obvious choices undermines the additional potential each choice has. A snow-covered driveway is a good example as you could choose to simply shovel yet you could also make snow-angels. Consider making angels then shoveling or break up the shoveling with a snowball fight. Notice the bonus that you’re also less likely to work alone.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.”
~ William A. Foster ~

“There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.”
~ Henry David Thoreau ~

As we weave our choices together to create experiences we want & develop opportunities we’re interested in, we explore our own empowerment & learn to construct days that are never wasted by establishing new baselines. Accepting each choice, every mistake, the chosen failures as uniquely ours reveals them as the lessons & stepping stones they always had the potential to be. Appreciate choices that led to better ones & those that were right in their moment.

“Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose,
to respond, to change.”

~ Stephen R. Covey ~

“It is our choices that show what we truly are,
far more than our abilities.”

~ J. K. Rowling ~

Don’t leave well enough alone; heed what you’re feeling & either express it or act on it. It’s choice that makes our lives our own & it can’t help but improve them. From attitude-adjustments to full overhauls, by actively choosing, we’re learning to live in the moment yet that concept is often misunderstood. It’s not so much the creation of happy lives as effective ones that taking charge of our moments allows us. We’re able to choose how we feel but only if we first choose to feel thus to live.

“Life is not a continuum of pleasant choices, but of inevitable problems that call for strength, determination, and hard work.”
~ Indian Proverb ~

my way.

(|_|*cheers*|_|)
“Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing,
I would choose pain.”

~ William Faulkner ~

PS: I’m choosing to make these quote-filled posts a regular happening. :grin:

Pass the mug; share the love <3
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Energy found, sharing myself in 4s — (|_| Drink Deeply |_|)
08.02.08 at 5:56 am

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1

Christopher 29.05.08 at 7:05 am

The layout and content of this post are well chosen indeed!!!

That’s certainly apropos! Visit more often would ya?! Especially w/such feedback..

Dorian |_|) “Good things, when short, are twice as good.” ~ Baltasar Gracián

2

Lorna 29.05.08 at 8:42 am

I’m with Faulkner—I just hope it never comes to that.

As true as Faulkner’s quotation is in a transcendental sense, I’ve never known anything else physically which is likely why I’ve so readily made this choice in all aspects of my life. Alas, I too hope you’re never faced w/nothingness.

Dorian |_|) “Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.” ~ John Patrick

3

RhodesTer 29.05.08 at 11:44 am

YAY! I like your quotes, you choose good ones. But you need more Tony Robbins.

..kidding.

I CHOSE to kid.

You typically do .. choose to kid.. & I choose to laugh.. usually.

your chosen one |_|) “If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.” ~ Tony Robbins [NOT! Now people know you were just kidding!?]

4

Rene 29.05.08 at 5:51 pm

Oh how I try to choose not to react badly at tense situations. Like our dumb satellite dish going out. It’s always hard to remember that we choose how we will react to things, but in the end, if we choose to respond without anger, it makes dealing with the issue that much easier.

Realization is half the battle; the day’s coming when, in the midst of reacting, you’ll start to make that time-worn choice — recognize it — & choose again. Of course, that’s not to say you shouldn’t express some well-placed frustration in the process.

Dorian |_|) “Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them.” ~ James Fallows

5

Omyword! 30.05.08 at 1:55 am

Even if we are in circumstances beyond our control, we have the choice on how to respond to or think about the circumstance we’re in. I think that this fact alone can lift us out of the trap of victimization.

YES! While we can’t direct everything that happens & we’re entitled to initial reactions, how we proceed is entirely our call.. Recognizing too that there’ll be times when we’ll only be able to choose our tho’ts shouldn’t be any less liberating. Not only do tho’ts impact how we interact & cope but it’s up to us the weight they have as we continue our journey.

Dorian |_|) “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” ~ Aeschylus

6

Brett Legree 30.05.08 at 5:25 am

Thank you for the link.

But more importantly, thank you for this wonderful piece of writing. Reading all of the quotes you’ve pulled together here calls me to action, even more so than my own internal motivation.

We have the power to choose, we can and will go out and do that which we are destined to do.

Thanks for the words today.

-Brett

7

coffeesister 02.06.08 at 3:27 am

That’s no meager motivation you have internally, either! You are beyond welcome & I’m thrilled to play a part in the furtherance of your journey. Like you, I find real power in discovering similar themes from disparate voices. May we continue — all together now, mugs raised high – to honor mutual themes, heed internal voices & provide motivation for each other along the way. Choice, FTW!!

|_|) “We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.” ~ Thomas Merton

8

Brett Legree 02.06.08 at 5:03 pm

Yes, let us raise our mugs high, and go out to take over the world!

I had to come back, too, to get the link to that *awesome* photo. It reminds me of Covey saying “the compass, not the clock”… wise words.

-Brett

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