“Your destiny is waiting and it is dependent on the choices you make today.”
—Nancy Salmeron
“I don’t have a choice. I can’t just quit my job to follow my dreams like you did,” my friend told me as we met for a cup of coffee to discuss her current work situation.
“I am not telling you to quit your job,” I responded. “I am only telling you that you have a choice about how you react to what is happening at your job. You can choose to focus on the positive aspects of your job or to focus on the negative. Ultimately, it’s your choice. Yes, I know your work situation is not perfect and you can’t control what happens, but you can control how you react to the difficult situations that show up. For example, you can count your blessings.”
“Give me some examples of my blessings because right now I don’t see them,” she said.
“Well, one blessing I can see is that this job pays your bills and puts food on the table. I can also see that you have developed great friendships because of this job. Your job is not perfect, but no job really is. I love my job, but I don’t particularly like some aspects of it. Yet, I choose to focus on the positive parts of my job and not dwell too much on what I dislike. When you choose to look at the good before the bad, it makes difficult work situations more bearable. And if you really are that miserable in your job, then you need to implement a plan to follow your dreams. No, I am not suggesting you quit your job tomorrow. I am simply asking you to consider identifying what you would love to do and to take baby steps toward making that a reality.”
“You may have a point there,” she said. “Sorry for being so snappy!”
Our lives are filled with tasks we have to do, feel we should do, or need to do, which can bring stress into our lives. Life happens, and we may forget that although we do not have a choice about what happens, we do have a choice about how we react to what happens. As I become older and wiser I am reminded that you don’t always get what you want in life, but you always have a choice as to how you respond to the drama of life. You have a choice about the attitude you bring to the negative events in your life and you have the choice to change your attitude. Today, let’s talk about how to tap into the power of choice in your life.
You can give your power to the “I don’t have a choice” perspective.
When you decide that you don’t have a choice, you have given your power to this perspective and you have made a choice. You always have a choice whether you acknowledge it or not. When you say you have no choice, you are playing the victim role. You give into the victim role by saying, “I don’t have a choice.” You have surrendered all of your power. Is this the choice you want to make?
Decide to make a better choice by changing your attitude.
When things are not working for you and you cannot change the situation, change how you view your situation. In the conversation above, my friend could not quit her job, but she could look at the blessings her job brings. Yes, sometimes it is very hard to find the blessings in jobs that you dislike, but if you focus on optimism you will view things very differently. When I meet with potential clients and we talk about a possible career change, I remind them that they must show gratitude for where they are now. This will put them on the path to where they want to be.
Explore alternatives to change your situation.
If you are miserable with a current situation and cannot find any blessings, then you must focus on change. You have the power to change every situation that is not bringing you joy. If you hate your job, what are some steps you can take to change it? If you cannot quit, perhaps you can start by looking for another job. Explore alternative steps and act to bring joy back into your situation.
When you are feeling you don’t have a choice, remember that you do. You have the choice to change your attitude about what is going on in your life or the choice to apply change to your life. Life is a matter of choice and your choices have consequences. Your destiny is waiting and is dependent on the choices you make today. Decide today that you are in control of your life by implementing the power of choice in your everyday life! Until next time, Believe. Change. Become.
Sending many blessings and much love your way!
Nancy😊