Choose Wisely

I remember a long time ago I watched an episode of a day time show where they had a number of life coach experts that were providing advice to people on how to live their best life.  The suggestions ranged from getting more out of their relationships to achievement of a better lifestyle by making better choices for yourself.  What was key and important for me at that time was the revelation that my own selection of what I did, ended up directly affecting who I was going to be.  Although this sounds simple enough, it can be challenging for certain people to come to terms with this.  For instance, some people struggle when it comes to getting past their childhood issues, specifically because they were not in charge of selecting anything that occurred to them and as a result they lived with the consequences of their parental or guardian's actions.  Although we have to come to terms with the childhood that we received, as adults one does get to choose what happens in our later years.  It can be quite revelatory to understand one is in charge their own destiny and be held completely accountable for that. I feel that one never has to settle for anything and more importantly, don't let anyone ever tell you or imply that you cannot achieve something.  I had an incident not too long ago when it was implied that the tougher road about a particular issue I was facing, was probably not the best course of action for me.  As soon as I heard that, my immediate instinct became a little defensive and then I processed what was being stated.  I centered on the thought that the person who was conveying their apprehension towards me, was their issue and not mine.  I took absolutely no responsibility for their point of view, as it was who they were and I cannot do anything about that.  Not taking anything personally was something I learned a long time ago via Don Miguel Ruiz's book, "The Four Agreements" and I highly recommend it to anyone who could benefit from peeling additional layers off one's true self.  These moments are interesting to me now as they serve as great reminders about the person that I have become, versus the prior version of myself that would have become very defensive along with letting negative emotions fester inside of me.  As you make your list of things to accomplish in the coming weeks or months, think about the many choices that you will have to make in order to get to the conclusion of where you want to be.  One must align not only their thinking, but also their surroundings with a compliment of people who will be supportive of all of the actions associated with those end goals.  I also think we should be cognizant of the fact that some people were meant to be in our path for a determined period of time and if those individuals no longer add value to you, then it is perfectly okay to disengage from them.  You cannot forget about the ability to make those choices that will ultimately add more value to your life, while you strive to live a more peaceful existence.  In the end, we all get to choose daily what we want in our lives.  So again I say to everyone, simply choose wisely.