Tag Archives: choices

Ships don’t sink because of the water around them

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“Ships don’t sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down.”

-Author Unknown

Image of the wrecked SS Edumund Fitzgerald

Image of SS Edmund Fitzgerald by NewsMax.com

As a citizen of Michigan, I greatly appreciate our five Great Lakes, the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world. The lakes have been traversed by native people since the dawn of time, and by western man since the 17th century.

Thousands of ships have sunk in these waters, and an estimated 30,000 people have lost their lives as a result. The most famous was the wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in a Lake Superior storm in November, 1975, with the loss of the entire 29-member crew.

What personal and professional waters are you navigating these days? What stormy or rocky events are causing you to take on water and giving you that sinking feeling?

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you bail any water that has entered your worlds, and begin sailing toward calmer, more prosperous seas?

Choices are the hinges of destiny

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“Choices are the hinges of destiny.”

⏤Edwin Markham, 20th Century American Poet

Image of an ornate door hinge

Image from Flickr by Fred Faulkner

In the book The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz warns us that more is less, and that our abundance-based culture often robs us of our satisfaction in life.

Imagine yourself in a room with a few dozen doors. You are told that some will lead to great opportunities, others to places far less desirable, maybe even dead ends.

All too often, we are looking outside ourselves to what others or society tells us are the best choices. And yet, we are frequently dissatisfied, because by comparison there is always something better⏤or at least we think so.

EXERCISE:

How might you use your most deeply held values and beliefs to design and open the doors you are meant to open? Your destiny hinges on it.

Make decisions by design

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“Make decisions by design, rather than default.”

⏤Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism

Seth Godin is one of my favorite authors. He has been blogging longer than almost anyone, and has written somewhere around 20 books. I particularly enjoy his provocative and edgy thinking on a large number of diverse subjects, especially when it come to being the leader in our own lives.

His recent book, What to Do When It’s Your Turn, points out that it is always our turn if, as today’s quote suggests, we make our own life decisions by design, not defaulting to the decisions of those around us.

EXERCISE:

Examine the degree to which you make your own important life decisions by design rather than default. How can you “choose yourself” more often, and decide that it is your turn to lead the life you were meant to live?

Your assumptions are your windows on the world

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“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.”

—Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Writer

Image of "The Four Agreements" book cover

Have you every read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz? If not, please order a copy today.

The third agreement in this masterpiece is “Don’t Make Assumptions.”

Unfortunately, we all tend to make assumptions about everything and everybody. This is often the root of much dysfunction, chaos, and general unhappiness in our world.

EXERCISE:

Where would greater openness and clarification of issues, personally or professionally, let more light in so you could lead a more fulfilling and satisfying life?

If it came from a plant, eat it

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“If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.”

-Michael Pollan, Professor, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

Image of today's quote

Image from Harmless Harvest

A few weeks ago, at the turn of the new year, millions of people committed for the umpteenth time to live healthier lives. Among the keys to success is the focus on optimal, high-quality nutrition.

In general, the fewer ingredients on the label, the better the choice. Or, choose only those made by Mother Nature herself. A simple way to decrease poor choices is to do the majority of your shopping around the periphery of your market, and avoid the aisles full of items produced in a plant.

EXERCISE:

Consider turning your next shopping trip into a food safari. Bring more tasty, naturally grown foods into your home and body. Reducing or purging many of the packaged items already in your cupboards and fridge will reduce the chances of making poor choices.

 

Make a Life

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“Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life.”

—John Wooden, former UCLA Basketball Coach

Image of today's quote

Image from quoteaddicts.com

Who do you know in your professional circle who has a great deal of regret because they did what today’s quote warned us against?

Over 30 years ago I had dinner with Frank, the Senior Vice President of the pharmaceutical company where I was a rookie sales representative. He had a huge job running the U.S. sales for what was then a four billion dollar Fortune 500 organization with more than 1,200 sales people in 20 regions spread across The United States.

On the surface, he exuded great success and accomplishment. Yet at the end of our dinner, he confided in me that his marriage, his relationship with his children, and even his health had suffered due to his job. His coaching for me was to not make the same mistake.

EXERCISE:

How can and will you change yourself so that making a life and making a living can be part of the same great journey?

Grab a Star

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“Most look up and admire the stars. A champion climbs a mountain and grabs one.”

—Author Unknown

Image of man on mountaintop grabbing stars

Image from CDP Safe

What stars are you reaching for these days? To what degree do you leap out of bed each morning, eager to jump into your personal or professional quest?

Perhaps you, like many, simply examine and admire the efforts or accomplishments of others through social media, or more traditional methods.

You may also compare yourself to others and get excited to summon your own “Go For It!” perspective.

EXERCISE:

What personal or professional mountains will you begin or continue to climb today, to grab your own star with the heart of a champion?

Friday Review: Choices

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FRIDAY REVIEW: CHOICES

What sort of life are you choosing? Here are a few choice-related posts you may have missed. Click on the link to read the full message.

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“Life is all about choices. How many people are trapped in their everyday habits: part numb, part frightened, part indifferent? To have a better life we must keep choosing how we’re living.”

 

 

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“Words empty as the wind are best left unsaid.”

 

 

 

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“Easy Street is a blind alley.”

 

 

 

 

 

too many choices

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“You have too many choices. The process of elimination is your sedimentation tank. What remains are the priorities.”

—Laurent F. Carrel, Messages from Melanie

Image of the aisles of a superstore

Image from brainfodder.org

When was the last time you visited a big-box supermarket? It has been estimated that the number of food products in these megastores are in the tens of thousands. Clearly it is impossible to get everything in our shopping cart, so we all go through some process of elimination. We use criteria such as healthiness, value, shelf life, and taste as factors to make our choices.

EXERCISE:

What criteria do you currently use in your personal and professionals worlds to filter out unhealthy or undesirable options that do not serve your highest priorities?

How could being more selective improve your world?

Rainbows Won’t Wait

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“The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow, but the rainbow won’t wait while you finish the work.”

-attributed to Patricia Clifford, Film Producer

QC #964

Image from Flickr by Elvis Kennedy

Do you sometimes feel life has passed you by?

Do you tell yourself you will have time – on the weekend, on the vacation, when you retire – to get to the things that matter?

Are you missing too many rainbows?

We cannot schedule the rainbows of our lives – we must seize precious moments as they occur.

EXERCISE:

How can you be more intentional and tuned into your world, so that you can find greater joy and fulfillment in life’s special moments?