P. B. Fitzwater said, “Character is the sum and total of a person’s choices.” You are required to make choices continuously. You decide when to get up, what you will eat, if you will exercise, with whom you will speak. Not all choices are equal in importance.
The simple choices are usually the easiest to make. The larger the impact of the decision, the more difficult it sometimes becomes to make the right choice. Mary Lou Retton once said, “As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we’ve been given.”
It sounds simple. Yet the biggest gap in our performance is the difference between what we know and what we do.
You can make excuses for not doing something. You can delay choices as long as possible. You can avoid situations that force you to choose.
If you feel you do not have control of your choices, it is time to get control. This week’s reflection exercise is to think about the choices you are making everyday and the choices you are avoiding. Review your to do list and see how long some of the items have remained on that list. Develop a plan to improve your daily choices.
I agree with Pat Riley when he said, “Look for your choices, pick the best one, then go with it.”