CHOICE your power to change destiny

Over the years I have met and observed many people and each and every one of them say they want some improvement in certain areas of their lives. In fact, most of them flat out confessed that they hated certain situations they were in. But after further evaluations, I discovered that they weren't willing to do anything about it with the exception of a very few. It seemed to be good enough for them to just sit there and wallow in their pain, anguish and misery. The most important thing that you should know is that your dreams and your destiny aren't determined by chance but by choice. Unfortunately, due to the current economic hardships besieging our beloved country, so many people haven't dreamed in so long that they actually don't even know what they want any longer. You have got to choose to continue stirring up that dream inside of yourself.

The power of choice is best captured in this story that I am going to narrate to you which goes as follows … One day a man was walking down the street on his way to work. As he walked down the street, there were dogs on just about every front porch and they all would bark as the man walked passed them. However, there was one dog that he remembered, because this dog was just sitting there and he was whimpering and whining and moaning, you know the little whimpering sounds dogs make when they are wounded or in some sort of pain.

Well, this particular dog was just sitting there on the front porch making those sounds. The man was curious as to why this dog wasn't barking like the other dogs and why he was whimpering. He couldn't figure it out, so he just kept walking to work. Well, this went on for the entire week and everyday when he passed by this house, the dog would be there moaning and groaning. So, finally, the guy got fed up, he said, "let me find out what's going on." So he went and knocked on the door and a guy came out and said, "Yes, how may I help you?" He said, "Sir, is this your dog?" "Yes, that's my dog." "Well, what's wrong with him?" The owner of the dog said, "What do you mean?" "Well, he's been sitting here moaning and groaning, whimpering and whining for an entire week. The rest of the dogs are barking, your dog should be barking too, why is he moaning and groaning?" The owner said, "Well, he's actually sitting on a nail." And the guy said, "What! Your dog is sitting on a nail. Why doesn't he get off?" To which the owner replied "Well, it just doesn't hurt him enough."

You know most people are like that dog sitting on a nail. I mean, sure, they would like to get off the nail, but instead, they just sit there on that nail because they're not sure what's going to happen if they get off. They never seem to stop to consider that maybe they would be able to move about and discover some new and exciting options for their lives. Even though it's not comfortable sitting on a nail, it kind of hurts, but at least they know what to expect. It is very sad that for most people if they can pay their bills and put food on the table and some clothes on their back plus a roof over their heads, that's enough for them. They just want to tip toe through life so that they can arrive at the graveyard safely and avoid facing any life challenges that are legendary in scope and have potential of advancing the well being of humanity.

Of course this will not be you simply because, instead of moaning and groaning, whimpering and whining about not getting the results you desire, you now know that you have the power of choice and today you will choose to get off that nail and create the conditions you desire for your future. There is great lesson I learnt from Alice in Wonderland an animated motion picture I once watched where Alice asked a cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" The cat answered, "That depends a great deal on where you want to go." Alice said, "Oh, I don't much care." He answered, "Then it really doesn't matter which way you go."

You owe it to yourself to periodically ask yourself the following questions: Which way do I want my life to go? What do I really want in life? Answers to these question gives you your choice and you are in control as well as endowed with the power to shape the destiny you desire based on the choices you make today. Quit blaming others for your disappointments. Make a quality decision to get up and get going. So until next time, remember you can have anything in life you want if you know what you want.