noun. an act of choosing between two or more possibilities. Choice involves decision making. It can include judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one or more of them. One can make a choice between imagined options or between real options followed by the corresponding action.
Life is full of choices. From the minute we wake up in the morning to when we go to bed at the end of the day we are in a constant state of making choices – we choose what to do, when to get up, what to do in what order: what to wear, what to eat, what to think and feel. We choose how to show up and how to be.
Choices start a chain reaction. Choices lead to Chances, Chances lead to Changes, Changes lead to Consequences, Consequences leads us back to Choices, and the cycle continues.
Choices can feel overwhelming and all consuming at times.
Choices can make both our head and our heart hurt.
Choices can be liberating and empowering.
Choices can bring us peace, calm and fulfilment.
I have always been quite good at making choices. I am a decisive person. I have a strong sense of intuition and a loud inner voice. I don’t procrastinate. I am a linear thinker and decision-maker. I make assertive decisions and I don’t fear missing out and seldom experience regrets. I have conviction to my choices and a commitment to making each choice work. I am also always empowered in the knowledge that it was my choice to say yes and lean in to something, so it is equally my choice to say no and lean out. I exercise this power regularly. I am in control of my choices.
Breaking CHOICES down:
Character
My values guide my choices and my confidence protects them.
“The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is what you become”.Heraclitus
Hopes
My choices are based on ambitions and aspirations. I am future-focused and don’t tend to look back.
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears”.Nelson Mandela
Optimism
My can-do attitude and my solutions-focused approach means that if choices have consequences, I have anticipated them or I am resilient to deal with them.
“Cynicism is a choice. Optimism is a better choice”.Shonda Rhimes
Integrity
My choices are driven by what I belief in, what I am passionate about. My choices are made in my core, in consultation with my head and my heart, framed by my values.
“Integrity, the choice between what is convenient and what is right”.Tony Dungy
Consequences
Choices have consequences, but not making a choice has consequences too. I would always prefer regretting doing something than regretting not doing it.
“Each choice has a consequence. Each consequence has a destination”.Joseph Worthlin
Empowerment
Everything is a choice. It is my life and I make choices that are right for me. I am empowered in my decision-making.
“I think that certainly my choices empower me”.Kyra Sedgwick
Strength
A strong sense of self, self-awareness and self-reflection makes most choices easy to make. I am strong-willed and resilient. I am prepared to make unpopular choices and choices which separate me from the crowd.
“You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice”.Bob Marley
I read somewhere that “Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud”. This really resonated me as I talk to people and support them in managing their Imposter Syndrome and diminishing their Inner Critic a lot. We must intentionally turn up the volume of our positive inner voice and mute the negative one so that our intuition can be heard and listened to.
For me choices are about conviction: self-belief, believing in your values and purpose, fuelled by your passion. Choices are about the alignment of your mission, vision and values.
It is hard for me to make choices when there is a lot of white noise around me. I need silence and stillness to make choices. I have enjoyed the quiet of the last few months and have embraced the solitude to do a lot of reflection – I have made a lot of conscious choices and wonder if others find themselves in the same situation of quiet reflection and empowered decision-making.
“Silence is a great source of strength”.Lao Tzu
As I reflect on choices I have made about my life and my career, I am happy and content. I am exploring my new identity and sense of belonging as I have made a lot of choices in the last few months which bring them new chances, new change and possibly new consequences: I have chosen to resign, I have chosen to go independent, I have chosen to study, I have chosen how I want to work, I have chosen what I want to do, I have chosen who I want to work with.
I have ultimately, and in many ways unintentionally, chosen to be a liminal leader.
“Leadership is a choice, not a position”.Stephen Covey
My experiences in schools, as a leader over the last two decades, have given me wisdom and insight about myself on many levels, personally and professionally.
I am happy in the choices I have made and I hope you are too. I choose to be happy each day. I choose to embrace the joy in my life. I choose to be kind to myself. I choose me.
“Attitude is a choice.Happiness is a choice.Optimism is a choice.Kindness is a choice.Giving is a choice.Respect is a choice.Whatever choice you make makes you.Choose wisely.”Roy Bennett
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