Choices
By Byron Pulsifer
Choices.
We all make them everyday.
Some are good, and some are not so good.
You can surrender your destiny to the desires of others, or you can
make your own. The point is that we can make choices that help us to
move forward through adversity, or we may make choices that assist
others to move beyond or through some of life's issues.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is
not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." --
William Jennings Bryan
Choices are within everyone's command.
No one has to do, or is obligated to live their lives as others live.
On the other hand, inevitably at some point in our lives, we witness,
first-hand, choices that other people, friends, family members or
colleagues make that we can clearly see are leading them down a
slippery slope to either immediate devastating consequences, or a
future that can be potentially harmful.
As caring people, we probably have all made efforts to try and assist
other individuals to change or alter a choice so they won't experience
what we feel will be negative reactions, rejection, or, worse still,
criminal prosecutions.
While there is nothing inherently wrong or misguided about our good
intentions, the ultimate choice people make is entirely up to them.
We can't live other people's lives for them; we don't want to put
ourselves in any position that appears or demonstrates that we own their problems or own their choices.
These people own their own lives; they make the choices, good or bad.
"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else
expects of you. Never excuse yourself." -- Henry Ward Beecher
Choices. We make hundreds of choices in our lives. Other people make
hundreds of choices. We might wish and hope that we can change other
peoples' choices so they can avoid potential problems be that drug
abuse, alcohol, relationships, parenting and on and on.
But, we cannot make choices for others - what we can strive to do is offer
constructive opinions or suggestions, when asked, or referrals to
professionals who can assist in one's decision-making. A quote by W.
Clement Stone may help you, or may help others keep moving forward
through the never-ending maze of choices:
"You always do what you want to do.
This is true with every act. You may say that you had to do something,
or that you were forced to, but actually, whatever you do, you do by
choice.
Only you have the power to choose for yourself."