CHOICE: 'READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!'

Choice: 'Ready or not, here I come!'

Choice: 'Ready or not, here I come!'

Has it ever occurred to you that every time you don't make a decision or don't do "something" that in fact you have actually exercised your choice? Isn't it a bizarre concept we can't seem to hide from our "shadow" of choice - every moment, each movement, and any inaction has a consequence. So knowingly or unknowingly we make a choice.

Think back to the game of "Hide and Seek" we probably all played as children. There are a multitude of things and places you can hide in, behind, above or below. The choices are only limited by our thinking - and sometimes size or flexibility. Some may have been as ingenious as my brother (who I thought more annoying than ingenious at the time) who would decide he had had enough of the game and chose not to hide.

As children, it's a given that the majority of our choices are made for us by parents or caregivers, and we have little power over what happens to us. But as we develop and mature we gain more control of our lives and find ourselves the makers of our own destiny.

Choice is a fact of life. No person is exempt. From the beginning of life to the end, we are choosing.

Choice is everywhere - at home, in the media, at the shops and on the road. We cannot escape choice, so it's no wonder that we often feel bombarded, confused and inactive.

But we don't need to feel this way. We can stop playing the victim and take responsibility for our choices. Acting out of ignorance or impulse does not absolve us from our responsibilities of making a poor choice. Taking responsibility means no one else is to blame. It means to take charge.

So - how can you take charge of the choices you make?

Be aware that you have choices - you are never stuck. You always have choices, even if you don't know what your choices are.
Don't allow impulse or a lack of information result in a poor choice.
Identify productive choices and don't settle. Always assume there are more choices than you are aware of.
Use all possible resources when making decisions - evaluate and look at the likely long term consequences.
Be creative - be a risk taker and accept rejection and failure as part of life - don't take it personally!
Be assertive - ask for what you want and say no to what you don't want.
Be proactive - don't habitually react to events or wait for things to happen.
Be goal orientated - clearly define and pursue goals.
Be positive and always anticipate success.

Now is the time to put this view to the test and join an elite group of choosers - dynamic, growing, enthusiastic and personally successful. The choice is entirely up to you.

Written by Damon Newman, The Mangrove
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