Move Forward - Choice Forward
Today I saw an opportunity; take a step in the direction of the future I want, or continue doing the same things I have been, letting that future be a dream. Knowing that I do not want to wind up old and gray with a dream that withered away, I do my best to keep “doing”- being productive and proactive, in order to achieve my dream. Doing and being proactive are not always easy or straightforward. Determining the steps to achieving any goal or dream is an important part to maintaining efficiency in the “doing”. How do I set up the “doing” without moving aimlessly, and find the efficiency I speak of? Knowing the future I want is waiting for me to seize it, I still have to overcome the distraction between me and it to get there. If I don’t overcome distraction, then the “doing” will always be difficult, and my dream out of reach. How do I overcome distraction? The first thing I have to do is decide that distraction is a choice, and the direction I take is my choice. Choice is defined as “the decision I make regardless of the circumstance or situation.” My choice can be my ticket to freedom, my enemy, or my gamekeeper, but I am accountable for my choices regardless.
As my gamekeeper, Choice can keep me in my place because habit and conditioning are parameters that often guide choices, and become the reasons for the choice itself. We rely on routine, habit, and conditioning to make choices because often we are naive to an alternative, and human nature is to do what we know. This type of conditioning can help us survive, but can also stifle communication. Example: What if what we know are poor communication habits? Then we are likely to make choices that perpetuate poor interactions. When someone makes a racially-charged comment towards me, I have to be aware of my choice in reaction because I can either reaffirm a negative perception that my antagonizer may have of me, or choose to respond unemotionally and objectively. If the situation or circumstances push me and I react, my choice becomes my enemy. In contrast, when I force myself to make decisions based on more than just emotion or the whim of the moment, my choice becomes my ticket to a free mind, spirit, and healthier world.
When crossing or interacting with people of different races and cultures, I make sure not to cast immediate judgements. It is natural and wise to make assessments of your situation, but to judge is to condemn. Often our choices and comments are rooted in something we have learned from our culture. Regardless of cultural influence, we must question the perception of ourselves and ask: “Has our CULTURE given us insight into respecting perspectives, or has it conditioned us to engage others through specific predetermined perceptions?” Our view of our neighbor could be rooted in an inaccurate perception of the individual or group in question. You have a choice in your perception of the next person but the recipient of your perception may be naive to how they are viewed.
Circumstances or situations give everyone opportunities to make better choices, but often we are naive to the full scope of choices we can make. For example, we sacrifice the choices to better our Mental Health, Physical Fitness and Spiritual Awareness for choices that better our financial independence: having enough wealth to live on without working. You must be imaginative, deliberate, and determined to break away from the conditioned choices set by any culture or social influence. Knowing this, I have had to make hard choices, but each difficult choice was an opportunity. Those opportunities gave me the ability to shape and guide my own future in a direction I could find reward in; a future where reward is not directly dependent on financial independence. This has helped me articulate the difference between “Perspective and Perception,” “Value and Worth,” “Tool and Vice,” and other dichotomies (you can learn more about these concepts at www.choiceforward.com). I spent my childhood shaping my experience in ways that often seemed puzzling to those around me. Those hard choices needed to be made, or I would not have been engaging the world. When you stop carving your own path of doing and thinking, you give up your choice to steer your own future. Let us make the choice to move forward together, and create a world where we all earn respect.
Written by Marcus at Choice Forward
www.choiceforward.com
