The Power of Choice

Today and in the following weeks, I will share with you some insights about my vision of coaching around choices.

Our daily life is made up of choices, from the pair of socks you will wear to the dinner you will cook or order back home. 

We are making choices every day at every single step.

A choice is neither good nor bad; you make a choice with all the information you have and during a specific moment of your life. And sometimes after a few events, you say that it was a bad choice. But often you made the best choice at this exact moment of your life, and it is important to be sure of this choice when you make it.

But first, what is a choice?

 

What is a choice?

The definition of a choice in the Oxford dictionary is “an act of choosing between two or more possibilities”; “The right or ability to choose”; “A range of possibilities from which one or more may be chosen.”

Some synonyms are “option, alternative, possibility, a possible course of action”.

It means that choosing is a right, an ability that you, and only you, have in your life. No one can choose for you, because it will not be your choice anymore. When you make a choice it means that you have different possibilities, at least two, and you have to choose one of them in order to move on.

“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” – John C. Maxwell

In your everyday life, what kind of choices do you have to make?

Examples of daily choices

Choices have a big impact on your life.

“Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” —Keri Russell

You can choose to snooze one more time and stay in bed and will have to rush to be ready to get to work or school, miss your train at 8.35am and your meeting scheduled at 9.00am. You can also be tired and decide to wake up later because you need this time for you and it is about self-care. Often when you make this choice, you don’t expect this domino effect that will make your day start badly.

The average working adult makes about 12 decisions before 9am and an adult makes about 70 decisions a day.

Some of these choices are so much part of our routine that we do not even stop to think about the choices we make. We make choices about the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the appointments we schedule, the people we meet, the time we turn up to work, which bus we catch, where we sit on the bus, what we do after work, and so on.

It’s part of our natural human behavior to make conscious and subconscious decisions on a daily basis.

Even not choosing to do something is a choice.

Choosing is sometimes a waste of time. Building a routine and habits can save you time and “brain energy” so you can focus on important decisions.

Some famous leaders have a morning routine, same clothes, same time to wake up, same breakfast. It gives them more space to think of essential things in their life and business.

For example, each day Steve Jobs would get up, make his bed, shower, and then look himself in the mirror. He’d lock eyes with himself and ask, “If today was the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I’m about to do today?”

If the answer was “no” too many days in a row, he knew something needed to change.

A bit too dramatic maybe, but it was effective for him.

Have you noticed that he was always wearing the same clothes?

Famous leaders always dress the same.

Steve Jobs wore a black mock turtleneck, blue jeans, and New Balance sneakers.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, wears a grey T-shirt. Albert Einstein, the famous theoretical physicist wore a grey suit, no socks, and unkempt hair. Jean Nouvel (Yes, a famous French leader too!), the French architect wears all black in the fall, winter and spring, and all white in the summer. Karl Lagerfeld, head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel, wears a black suit, white shirt, tie, sunglasses, and accessories (like gloves or jewelry).

Zuckerberg himself has said in an interview “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about anything except how to best serve this community.”

Clearly, having a routine helps us to have a clearer mind when it is time to make tough or important decisions.

Having a clear mind is essential to make a choice, but that alone will not give you the answer.

Again, some of the choices you make in your life will be life-changing, and the choices we make can leave us with more meaningful learning experiences. This is the power of choice.

The Power of Choice

Tony Robbins, entrepreneur, bestselling author, philanthropist and the creator of the #1 personal and professional development program speaks brilliantly about the Power of Choice.

“The one thing we have in this world is we cannot control the events, but we can choose what to focus on, we can choose what things mean and we can choose what to do.”

Think about your life for a second.

How did you end up where you are now?

Think about 3 decisions you made in your life where, if you had made a different decision, you would have a completely different life today.

How is your life better today because of the decisions you made?

Take the time to reflect and think about these 3 decisions.

How do you feel? Do you remember when and how you took them? Do you regret them?

Maybe it was a little decision and it changed your whole life.

By choosing, you can have control of your life. Even a small choice can help you feel better. And if you want a new life, you need to make new choices.

“If you don’t like the way your career or your business is, change it!

If you don’t like your body, change it!

If you don’t like the relationship you’re in, change you first then maybe change it.” 

– Tony Robbins

And you, are you happy with the life that you have?

How do you think your choices impacted your life?

What is your process when you make a choice?

Have you ever felt your choice was not yours?

 

Next week, I will talk about how I made my choices, why I do not regret them.

I will share with you some tips and show you how I can help you to make a choice that is right for you (and only you!) thanks to my coaching.

 

Marie Rousselle

Rainbow Life Coaching