People learn to make choices in life, but we don’t always know what kinds of choices to make. We know that in order to achieve results, we need to spring into action – one of the fundamental choices we can make (choosing to act).

I believe the next choice we need to make is to see from all angles. If something is perceived only from one angle (usually the one we favor) then it may not always be the clearest picture.

In attending a motivational program, many people forget that the choices they make are the choices they have to own. If you discovered that you have to change your job, then make sure you do it out of clarity rather than impulse (which many people do).

Impulsive change is not what you want. You want massive action based on clarity of awareness.

I believe the second choice we have to make is the choice of sustaining a reaction. Sure, we learn that we can react to negative things, but we also seldom learn to look out for and react to positive events in our lives. We say that we can treat a negative issue in a positive light. But even if you had a good day, do you know how to keep that positive reaction? How do you respond to that? Do you sometimes let that fade? Perhaps, you could

• be grateful
• strive for an even better outcome
• appreciate those who were involved in that event

Sustaining change is just as important as initiating change.

One other choice I believe we need to learn to make is the choice of course correction. Not everything in our lives goes smoothly all the time. In fact many of the things we decide to do will never go smoothly or perfectly. Instead, we need to learn how to go with the flow and be able to change the course that we are on. This is important because we need to also remember that there should be flexibility in the application of the method. Too many times, people give up and don’t move toward their goals and end up changing their goals.

Finally, I believe the choice for us to stop and look at ourselves and reflect on our behaviors is also important for personal development. Without doing this, our life goes on by without us having the time to think about what we do in the first place, and then to ask ourselves if this is a meaningful behavior. A lot of the time, meaning is lost in our action, because we know how to sustain it but we don’t know how to enrich our behavior with meaning. Meaningfulness, I believe will be the ultimate reason why we grow.