We all landed on this planet endowed with the greatest gift possible – the gift of thought – and contained within that jewel lay a diamond encrusted and gold wrapped treasure – the remarkable power of choice.

As we grew and developed from infancy to adulthood our awareness, understanding and selection of this all powerful gift became the architect shaping the ever changing blueprint for how our lives would unfold.

Regardless of our level of comprehension of this magnificent ability we were given, our use of this power has played a central role in bringing us to where we are today.

We are all self made people to the degree that we have made choices that have led to decisions, actions and results in our lives that collectively have sculpted the life we are living at this moment.

If this is so, then why don’t we get it? We seem to “get it” at a cognitive level that we have choice over what we do but yet we act so often as if there is no choice, as if the things we do and the situations we find ourselves in are completely outside of our control. Why is that?

I’m no expert but here’s what I think; by accepting the role choice plays in producing results in our lives, we also have to accept responsibility for those choices. This means we can no longer place blame or reason for things happening in our lives outside of ourselves as we got to where we are today through our own choices.

If we can’t blame others for where we are, we can’t be victims. If we can’t be victims we have to assume ownership of the state of our lives. If we have to assume ownership we also assume personal responsibility for where we are today and where we will be tomorrow.

This really sucks.

I hate this.

Over my lifetime I have done more dumb things than anyone I know. In fact, I am about to publish what will become the greatest self-help book of all time. It’s titled “Look what I did and DON”T DO IT!”

And I so badly want to blame someone else for all my bad decisions, stupid mistakes and really bad ideas but, alas, I can’t. I have to own it. Oh the pain.

But here’s the good news. Now that we know that the choices we have made have led to the lives that we have, if we want our lives to become different we need to explore all of our choices and start making choices that will lead us to the lives we want even if that means we have to do things in the short term that are uncomfortable or cause us pain.

Choice, the power is extraordinary.

Use it wisely.

Till we read again.