When You Get to Choose

As with so many of the things I write about here, this one comes courtesy of someone dear to me who made an off-hand comment: "You show your true nature when you get to choose." So let's talk about choice, and what it reveals about you.

Having a Choice

Volumes upon volumes have been written about how wonderful it is to live in a world and society where you have choices, so I'm not going to put another drop in that bucket. You're fortunate to have choices and you know it, end of story.

What's important for our choices here is recognizing when you do have a choice, and what the choice you make says about you. Recognizing and acknowledging when you do have a choice is a subject we could talk about length in and of itself. For now, suffice it to say that having the skill is important.

If you live in a first world country, you have an abundance of choices available to you every day. If you are having trouble seeing them, I recommend some serious introspection and increased awareness.

Choice and Your Nature

When you have a choice, truly have a choice, your nature will come to the fore. This isn't to say that you can't choose to go against it, of course. But generally when you have complete freedom, you can get a rather good idea of where your nature is at that point.

Even if you do resist your initial urges for some reason, be conscious of what that first urge was. It is an excellent indication of where your nature is trying to take you. Don't let your nature define your choices. Make choices that shape you as a person.

Choices eventually become habits, even if they are difficult to make at first. Starting out, you may be forcing yourself, straining against your nature and urges. Eventually, consistently making the choices to go in the direction you want to go will change you at your very core. The choices you make will reveal to both yourself and others that you made the right choice: You chose strength in all things.