You Always Possess the Power of Choice

Most people feel powerless. If you are one of those people, here’s what you need to know: You actually possess an enormous amount of power. It resides in your ability to make a choice.

It’s not uncommon to find yourself in situations you don’t like and think you can’t do anything to change them. You may feel depressed or angry, and don’t think you can do anything to alter your emotions, or you continue habitual behaviors you know you need—and want—to change but feel unable to do things differently.

That’s the experience of powerlessness. However, in each of these scenarios, you have power. You have the power to make a choice—a different choice than you previously may have made.

The Power of Choice

I hear you… “No, I don’t. I have no choice in this matter,” you say.

In fact, you always have a choice.

Let’s say you don’t like your boss, and, therefore, you aren’t enjoying your job. You can continue to complain and be unhappy. That’s a choice.

Or you can do something different that leads you to a better relationship with your boss and a happier work experience. That, also, is choice.

New Choices Lead to Change

Whether or not something changes depends upon the choices you make. To change something, you must make new decisions.

If you don’t choose to find a new job, you can choose to approach your work with a different attitude. Or you can choose to perceive your boss differently—or to respond to him differently.

As for your job, maybe you just decide to do it to perfection, so you feel great about yourself and potentially get a promotion, which potentially would mean you work for someone else. Or you decide to be super nice to your boss—rather than avoiding him and speaking to him with grunts.

These are choices—ones that can change your situation at work for the better.

If you feel depressed a lot of the time, you can choose to place your thoughts on things that make you feel happy or content. You can decide to exercise daily, since doing so has been proven to change a person’s mood for the better.

Or you can choose not to do anything different at all and remain feeling as you do. That, also, is a choice that you have the power to make.

You Make Choices Each Moment

You may think you have difficulty making choices, but you don’t. You make them at every moment.

You choose to:

• get a cup of coffee
• wait another 30 minutes before you eat lunch
• check Facebook
• look at the text that just came in
• answer the phone (or not answer the phone)
• go to sleep
• stand on both legs instead of one
• look at the squirrel running by your window
• take a deep breath
• pause
• smile
• frown
• focus on a task

Now…make choices about things that matter and that aren’t exactly as you’d like them to be.

No, you may not be able to choose to have your boss give you a raise. (Although, deciding to focus on getting the raise—instead of not getting it—can send some good energy toward that outcome.) But you can choose how you respond to not getting (or getting) it.

Your power lies in your ability to choose. And you have that power every minute of every day. So use it.

I’d love to know how you you plan to exercise the power of choice this week to improve your life. Tell me in a comment below.

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Do you feel like nothing can or will ever change—especially you—and that means you can’t become the person you know you can be…the person you want to be and feel certain you were meant to be? It’s time to get out of your own way and get from where you are to where you want to go. Give me an hour of your time, and I’ll help you see how to step into your best self. To apply for a one-hour FREE Certified High Performance Coaching strategy session, fill out this application.

Photo courtesy of HENRIQUEMENDES /Pixabay.com.