By Barbara @ Follow Your Own Rhythm
The fact that we all have a choice in life might seem obvious when you hear it out loud, but how many of us actually embrace the true meaning of this phrase? How many of us actually make authentic choices in our lives?
Well, in order to make authentic choices, we have to first know what that means. This article will explain what it means to have a choice and how embracing this gift can dramatically change your life.
What Does It Mean to Have a Choice?
I am not talking so much about physical choices such as what school to go to, which house to buy, what to have for dinner…although you have a choice in that too.
I am talking about internal choices. The choice to think for yourself. The choice to have whatever perspective you want to have on life. The choice to believe whatever you want to believe. The choice to be happy or miserable. The choice to change or remain stagnant.
We all have a choice. Thankfully, we were born with this gift. We were born with the gift of free will. And no one can take this away from you.
So even if your life situation isn’t exactly ideal, you still have a choice in how you respond to it, how you feel about it, and how you perceive it. And this my friends, changes everything.
Matter of Perspective
Your reality, which basically boils down to how you SEE and PERCEIVE the world, is a matter of perspective, which is a matter of choice. YOUR choice. You have complete control over your perspective.
Often times, we let our past, our environment, and our mental conditionings determine our present day perspective. So if we had one or a series of bad experiences in the past with Thai food let’s say, we will perceive Thai food as bad. We close the subject off for good. Put it away in a category labeled “bad food.”
What I am saying, is that we don’t have to live like that. We can either live limited by our past and our surroundings, or we can rise above it and make a choice to NOT LET THAT AFFECT HOW WE SEE THE WORLD TODAY.
Who knows, maybe your palette has changed or maybe you just never tried real authentic Thai food and you would actually enjoy it today. You never know what can happen, so remembering to stay open-minded and not letting your past control your current mindset is key.
Related Article: Keep an Open-Mind (and why it can change everything)
Your life experiences are determined by the choices you make
It is in the choice of how you respond to and think about your life that will determine the type of life you will have.
What kinds of thoughts are you having? What is your inner belief system about yourself and the world? Do you think the world is bad or good? Do you think people can change for the better? Are you optimistic about the future? Do you think that you deserve a good life? Do you think that you deserve happiness? Do you think outside of the box? Do you allow your thinking to be controlled by the media, authority figures, or society? Do you question things often? Do you ask why?
Many of us don’t even know how much our environment and our past controls us. It is so subconscious that we are not even aware of it. So many of us continue about our lives with a certain attitude, a certain belief system that for the most part has been wired into our brains…without a conscious choice of our own.
We grow up thinking that we are powerless. So we listen to the outside world to tell us what to do. We live by a social manual.
If something doesn’t go right, we are supposed to complain. If the majority says it’s right, it must be so. If someone acts a certain way, they are “this” type of person. If an authority figure says something, we must obey. If a doctor recommends something, we must listen. Whatever food the supermarkets are selling, must be good enough for us to eat.
We don’t question anything and we keep letting the people in power decide our fate.
SO HERE IT IS...
You are a FREE person.
You do not belong to anyone and no one has the power to control you, unless you let them.
You have the free will to decide how much power you give to the outside world to control your feelings, your attitude, and your behaviors.
You can question anything and everything. And please do! You have the freedom to do the research you need to do to find real answers to your real questions.
There are no rules. There are no limits. We make up rules in our head based on what we have been told is normal, acceptable, and popular. But there are no real rules on what you should, are supposed to, and can do. It’s all in our heads. (We are talking about unwritten social rules, not actual physical rules such as do not steal or kill).
Seriously. If someone says you can’t, ask why. You have a choice in how much you let others tell you what you can and can’t, should and shouldn’t do. You have to be strong enough to stand up for yourself!
YOU HAVE A CHOICE IN HOW YOU RESPOND.
If someone makes fun of you, you have the choice to take it personally and fight back or to move past it as it has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with their own inner pains.
You have the choice in how you respond through the lens from which you choose to see something. There are multiple ways to look at every situation, so why not choose the most empowering, enlightening, and enlivening option? Why choose to see the bad in everything?
When you take up all of your mental focus on seeing the bad, you leave no room for seeing the good! What purpose does it serve to focus on the bad? It doesn’t even make you feel better so there is absolutely no point.
But unfortunately, no one teaches us in school or in our life that we have a choice to believe, think, and do what we want...instead, we get taught the very uptight and limited rules of our culture at a very early age.
It is from this place that most of us perceive life.
SO LET THIS ARTICLE SERVE AS A REMINDER THAT WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE.
We can choose our thoughts, we can choose our beliefs, and we can choose our actions (and reactions).
We are free to perceive a situation in any which way we like...as either good or bad, positive or negative, a burden or a lesson. These are things that NO ONE CAN CONTROL but you...and your life will be good, if you focus on the good, and it will be bad if you focus on the bad.
"Optimists are right. So are pessimists. It's up to you to choose which you will be." -Harvey Mackay
I challenge you to become aware of your inner power. To own your freedom to reevaluate your inner belief system, let go of outdated ideas, and learn new ways of thinking!
Let go of thoughts that keep you negative, limited, and miserable! Thoughts are the most powerful tool you have in this world.
The thoughts that you think create how you feel, and how you feel determines your actions.
Check out the video at the bottom to see for yourself!
YOU ARE FREE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE IN ANY WAY YOU WANT.
The only thing that is stopping you are your own beliefs about what is right, accepted, normal, and possible…just a simple belief.
So why not just start thinking differently? I know, I know, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Yes, you need lots of discipline and CONSISTENCY. You need to literally rewire your brain. But you can do it if you really want to!
Do you want to live on the negative or positive side of life? Do you want to believe that everything is here to help you grow or that everything is here to harm you? Do you want to take responsibility for your actions or do you want to blame others for where you are? Do you want to focus on the ugly, dark side of life, or the good, bright side of life?
We are not limited to the beliefs we have believed our whole lives. We are not limited to the lifestyle we grew up in or the traditions we were taught.
We are our own special, unique, individual beings. If we choose our thoughts wisely, which means that if we reevaluate our belief system, we can indeed create a very satisfying reality for ourselves.
We have a choice. YOU have a choice. Embrace this gift. You were born with it for a reason.
If you want to learn more about how our thoughts literally rewire our brains and the biological affect it has on us, I HIGHLY recommend you check out this Ted Talk by Dr. Joe Dispenza.
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