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Freedom of choice
HAVE YOU ever felt trapped in your job or relationships? Have you ever felt that other people and events controlled your life and you had no choice in the situation?
There are times when we all feel a little overwhelmed with life but it's at times like those that we need to remember that we always have more choices than what we think. Over the years, I have learned that choice can be limiting or liberating; entrapping or empowering; can lead to inaction or pro-action. As humans, we have the gift of choosing what path we walk.
Sometimes, we take the wrong road but the choice is entirely ours. I'd like to say that I've always made the right choices. But the fact of the matter is that I've made many poor choices. But, fortunately, the good choices have outnumbered the bad. Other individuals have been less fortunate with their poor choices outnumbering the good. A former board member of the third largest police service in the world, I didn't simply sit in a sterile board-room to review reports, as I believe any leader needs to periodically experience first hand what their `troops' witness on a daily basis. My eyes were opened when I walked the beat with police in a rough neighbourhood as bricks were hurled at us and other pedestrians. I was called to an armed robbery, intervened in a domestic violence situation and sat for hours on a drug bust. It occurred to me that the perpetrators of those crimes made particularly poor choices but I suspend judgment because I admit that as a rather rebellious teenager, many years ago, I may have just as easily made the same choices and give thanks that I didn't. I also respect the police for their choice of an often-thankless career.
Choices have given you and me more than my fair share of joy and sorrow. But even in my darkest moments, I remind myself to give thanks for that freedom to choose.
Thank you for speech. And silence. Thank you for choice.
Thank you for the laughter. And love of family and friends. They give us more choice!
Every day, I'm truly grateful for everything I have — like freedom and food. I'm equally grateful for everything I don't have — like persecution and hunger. Every day, I'm grateful for choice. Every day, it's worth reminding ourselves that we all have more choice than ever before; that we all have more choice than we think we might at the time.
CATHERINE DEVRYE
(Catherine DeVrye is the author of the best sellers "Hot Lemon & Honey" and "Hope Happens!... words of encouragement for tough times". Winner of the Australian Executive Woman of the Year Award, she speaks internationally on managing change, customer service and turning obstacles to opportunities. Website www. greatmotivation.com)
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