You Always Have a Choice

As I sit here, I am recounting numerous conversations with friends in which they have shared some very challenging situations in their lives. These situations range from relationships to career to religion to family and everything in between. The one common thread in each of these conversations is the feeling of hopelessness that each of my friends has had about the particular situation that each one is facing. They all feel that there is nothing that they can do to change their circumstances. They are simply left to endure the hardship. They struggle to find ways to survive but they have all stopped living in some way or another. There is a real lack of hope and joy in these conversations.

As I listen through the tears my heart is filled with empathy and compassion. I too have found myself in situations that seem impossible. I have struggled to find even a glimmer of hope. However, I have been blessed to discover one truth that has set me free from the downward spiral: There is ALWAYS a choice. Once I discovered that I had the power to make a choice I became a new woman. I could either remove myself from whatever was holding me down or accept that it is my choice to remain in my current circumstances. I have all the power. It is up to me to decide how to respond to those things in my life that are out of my control. When I focus on what I can do I am instantly set free. I can never control another person. I am incapable of controlling everything that happens in my life. However, I can always control my response.

When you find yourself in a situation that seems to have no hope, remember, there is always a choice. If you have a difficult relationship with your father you can choose to see him or not. Whatever you choose there will be consequences but the choice is yours. It is up to you to decide which consequences are more tolerable. If being single makes you unhappy, you have a choice. You can choose to lower your standards. You can try new methods to meet someone. You can seek counsel to deal with your feelings about being single. If it is your career that has got you down, you too have a choice. You can quit. You can keep working but look for a new job. You can try to make your current job better. You can go back to school. I know that many of these choices are not exactly what you would want, but they are choices nonetheless.

The choice is yours. What are you going to do? Are you going to continue to give your power away to others who wish to control you and hold you back? Or will you take the high road and decide to make whatever choice is best for you? It may not always be easy to accept the choices available to you. Remember, once you begin to take control and make your own choices things almost always improve. Often, the act of choosing that which is best for you will lead you down a path that will afford you new and better options.

Get out there and start making choices!!!