“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
-Professor Albus Dumbledore
(Okay we admit it, we are Harry Potter fans and for good reason, namely, there are quotes like this one.)
This quote highlights what we have found to be true in our combined 30+ years of working with people, that every choice you make defines or re-defines who you are more than anything else you do.
If you take a moment to think about the people that you respect the most, we suspect that you respect them for the choices they made over the course of their lives and not for the money they had, their background or job history, the sanity of their parents, their intelligence, their skill at one task or another or their physical beauty.
Take a few minutes right now, to think of the choices you have already made today. Did you get up with time to exercise, meditate or reflect, eat a healthy breakfast, and get to your place of work or first meeting with time to spare? Or, did you jump out of bed at the last second, grab some coffee and barely make it to work on time? The choices you made as you started your day teach you what is currently important to you and they teach you about your values. You have the opportunity to see if, while saying you want to live a life of balance, you are making choices that are in alignment with a balanced life. If not, then it’s time to reconsider your choices.
We know, we know. There are a ton of reasons for your less then admirable choices; you are busy after all, your parents were difficult and neglectful, you struggle with anxiety, and the list goes on. We each have our lists. Some days we believe our lists and many days we give our lists the power to take our choices away. But we believe – in our own lives and when we coach clients – that when we choose well, we live better and with more respect for our selves.
We invite you to take a moment and think about your dreams for your life and ask yourself, “Am I making choices that move me toward my dreams and honor what I need to thrive and contribute? Am I choosing to take action in ways that allow me to be my very best?”
If you are making choices that honor and align with your intentions – fantastic! If you are not, identify one choice you could make consistently over the next few weeks that would better align you with your dreams. Now, take a deep breath and commit to making that choice in order to move yourself one step closer to the best you possible!