Understanding How the Choices We Make Impact the Present, Our Future, and Our Destiny
“Choices are the hinges of destiny.” –Pythagoras
Everything
we are and everything we will ever be will be determined by the choices we
either do or don’t make. We can either choose to begin or not. We can choose to
learn more or not. We can choose to study or not. Our destiny is not some
predetermined outcome which has been decided for us. Our destiny is what we
make it, and our choices are what determine it.
As
human beings, we have the greatest gift available to us on the planet. We have
the ability to think and reason; we have free will. There is no other creature
on earth with this amazing gift. Each and every day we receive an allotment of
time to accomplish all that we choose to do in any given 24-hour period.
Obviously, we cannot do everything in one day, so we must develop effective
strategies to manage our choices for each day. If we leave this important
decision to chance, the day will surely run us, instead of us running the
day.
Decide
right now, in this moment, not tomorrow, not “someday,” but right now. Decide
what it is you really want and decide what you are willing to give in return
for its attainment. This one decision will have more to do with your destiny
than anything else.
When we
decide to take full responsibility for our choices, we are empowered, in that
moment, to make as many mistakes as required for us to succeed and achieve. It
is only the unsure mind, the apprehensive mind, that second guesses and
questions each decision with what-if questions.
Our
destiny hinges not on the decisions of our past, but on the decisions we make
today, and the decisions we will make tomorrow, and the next day, and the one
after that. And that is because all of the decisions we make are only ever made
“one day at a time.” Let the past serve as a reflection for the future. Destiny
is a choice.
The
teachings of Pythagoras give us a foundation from which to begin any new
endeavor we choose. The ability to think and reason is viewed by many as a
curse instead of a gift. When we pause to reflect, however, no matter what our
view, we must, at a minimum, acknowledge what the ability to think and reason
allows us. All other creatures in the animal kingdom operate purely from
instinct. They are governed by a preconceived set of conditions that keep them
from making any choices independent of instinct. The same is not true for human
beings. We can, at any point in time, tear up the script of our lives and begin
again with new information.
Making Sense of the Uncertainty of Service to Others
“He who endeavors to serve, to benefit, and improve the world, is like a swimmer, who struggles against a rapid current, in a river lashed into angry waves by the wind. Often, they roar over his head, often they beat him back and baffle him. Most men yield to the stress of the current. Only here and there the stout, strong heart and vigorous arms struggle on towards ultimate success.” -Albert Pike
If we are called to serve, I can almost assure you, we will struggle. We will be faced with very difficult choices, and we can only hope the guidance we follow will be from our highest self. The difficulty is often in deciding if the calling is of a true divine nature, or if it’s just us in our own minds.
This is where we must have faith. If we are putting our trust in something much bigger than we are, we may also be compelled to make decisions that are much bigger than we are. Once a decision is made, it is sometimes impossible to recover from that decision, or at least in the present moment, it feels impossible.
We don’t yet know what the future holds for us, but we can be sure whatever it is, it will be based on the decisions we make every day. Sometimes we are willing to follow our instincts, and in the moment, it may look like the choices we made were wrong. Not all choices are right or wrong. Life is not a dichotomy; life is messy and complicated. Sometimes the choices we make will haunt us the rest of our lives…
The truth of the matter is, we don’t ever really know whether we made the right or wrong choice, but we know we chose. The act of not choosing is also a choice… What we must reconcile, is whether or not we can live with and stand by the choices we make. If we can find a way to do that, then we are on our way to real acceptance…
Who even knows for sure, what success really looks like as it relates to service? Success can only ever be defined individually, but whether it be in service or in life, I can almost assure you, we will be called to be stout, strong hearted, and compelled to struggle mightily against the current of life.
“Our passions are the winds that propel our vessel. Our reason is the pilot that steers her. Without winds the vessel would not move and without a pilot she would be lost.” -Saying on Passion, by Unknown
In the days
of the great sailing ships, the wind was everything… Well, almost everything.
Wind was obviously necessary, it was critical for movement, without it there
was no progress, a ship was dead in the water without the wind. And as
important as the wind was, it was only one of the components required for a
great ship to be GREAT. Without sails, there was no way to capture the
potential energy that existed in the winds. Therefore, the wind was only
potential energy.
Once the
wind was captured by the sails, it then existed as an element to propel the
vessel. But without a way to direct the energy captured by the sails, the
energy only produced movement, and movement without purpose and direction would
carry the ship for sure, but to where? If a destination was ever to be reached,
then there had to be a way to steer or guide the vessel. On a ship, the element
for steering her is the rudder, for us, it’s our ability to think and reason.
Our ability to chart a course and reach a specific destination in life is a
gift. It is the gift of reason!
Our passion
propels us. Our reason guides us. Without our passion, we only have access to
some of the potential energy that exists for propulsion. Without a GREAT sail,
our MINDSET, we only capture a small amount of the POTENTIAL that exists for
each of us. And without the ability to think and reason, none of this would
really matter because we would be like a great ship adrift on the ocean of
life. Our reason is our rudder and our rudder is our reason.
Chart your
course for success today! Put up your sails and capture all of the energy
available with your ATTITUDE. Guide your vessel to its desired destination with
skill and precision using your gift of reason. Be the best pilot, the best
captain, the best leader, the best salesperson, the best marketer, the best
teacher, the best writer, the best parent, the best poet, the best teammate, the
best photographer, the best friend, be the BEST of the best!
Understanding the Relationship Between our Habits and our Character
“Our
character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often
unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.”
-Stephen R. Covey
If our character is basically a composite of our habits, we
can effectively completely change our lives by changing our habits. Our current
habits define who we are at this present moment in time. However, they don’t
define who we will eventually be, because we have the ability to change our
habits if we commit to making the necessary changes. The paradigm shifts we
experience will be in direct proportion to our efforts in the application of
each habit.
What do you want to be? A teacher? A writer? A computer
technician? A pilot? A social worker? What kind of life do you want to live?
Everything is possible. If you’re not living the life you’ve always dreamed of
living, choose to do so, and take the first step toward it. Delete one habit
that doesn’t move you toward your goal, and replace it with one habit that
does. Then do that again… and again. Change your habits one by one, and you
will change your character and become the person you dream to be.
In his best seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People, Stephen Covey lists being proactive as the first habit. Be Proactive!
Take complete “response-ability” for your own life. When we take full
responsibility for our life, we empower ourselves to make any and all changes
necessary to achieve the results we desire. By changing the habits at the core
of the results we experience, we also change our character and our life. We
each have the ability to elevate our life through conscious endeavor.
“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” -Henry David Thoreau
