Choosing the Course

So often it feels like life flies by us faster than the speed of light. One minute it's March and the birds are just starting to sing for the first time since right before the freeze of winter. And then the next thing we know, little ghouls and goblins are trick-or-treating  at your door.

In that time, we make a gazillion decisions. How many of those decisions received our full attention? How many just happened?

Each choice we make - whether we choose it intentionally or whether we simply accept whatever happens - impacts the direction of our life.

Being intentional is more the being selective about where we go, who we hang out with, or even what we choose to eat. Living a deliberate, intentional life will impact the attitudes that drive us. It influences the words with which we communicate with ourself and others.  And determines the actions we choose or don't choose to interact with our world.

Attitudes

Have you ever said, “My boss made me so mad!"? I know I have. It's so easy to hand give away our power over one of the most influential components of who we are. Khalil Gibran once said, “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens."  Our attitude colors our perspective. It can either limit our options or expand them. When we live intentionally, we take ownership of your attitudes and our underlying emotions. We put ourself in the drivers seat. Choose your attitudes with care.

Words

Where attitudes color our paradigms, words will express and shape our convictions. In his book, The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book, Don Miguel Ruiz shares that the words we use - in communicating with others or in our self-talk - give us power to create. Our words are seeds that we plant in our lives and we will have to harvest from those plants in the future. Be conscious and deliberate in the selection your words.

Actions

The actions we take or don’t take are often a reflection of our attitudes and words. They set us on our course and determine what direction we will take. Too often it is easiest to just go with the flow and not consider our actions and the long term results those choices will have in life. Tony Robins put it this way, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”

Even during periods of change and transition, when if feels like we have the least amount of control over our lives, we still have great power if we make intentional choices.

#intentionalliving, #control, #consequences