The Power & Privilege of Choice

Our Lives are the Product of Our Choices

Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl is often credited for saying, “Between stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Or, in short, our choices matter.

Of course, we all know that, or at least think we do. But do we live every minute with that awareness? How often do we unconsciously react to the world around us rather than choosing our daily paths?

The more I reflect on this, the more I realize that choices are the backbone of everyday life. Choices guide all decisions, large and small. Perhaps one of our biggest gifts as humans is the power to choose.

Are You Driving Your Life?

As I observe the world around me, and the people in it, I am struck by the fact that our lives are filled with stimuli, a constant stream of information and attention-getting stuff. Whether it’s the visual sights and sounds we experience as we drive down the road or the rabbit-hole of the worldwide web, our senses — particularly our visual senses — are flooded well beyond our capacity to consciously take it all in, much less to make it all useful to our lives. Thus, we are left to decide which streams of stimuli we acknowledge, and which streams we do not. One problem — dare I say epidemic — is our tendency to unconsciously allow various stimuli to drive our behavior, and in affect, to steer the course of our lives, day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Even if it doesn’t steer our life, we can all agree that it has an influence. So, how do we attempt to alter this kind of unconscious behavior?

Bursting the Dam

As you probably expect, we make it conscious.

The first step towards change is awareness — recognizing our current behavior patterns, and the choices that guide them. This starts by simply being more observant of our daily actions. Once we begin to observe actions from an outside perspective, asking ourselves why we make correlating choices, the floodgates begin to open. Suddenly, we become aware of our unconscious reactions in more areas of our lives. Once the dam is burst, there’s no turning back. As if the blindfold has been removed, we become aware of everything we do, and the endless opportunities we have to choose differently.

Choose to Choose

If you want to make a difference, if you want to be happy, successful, and fulfilled, it will benefit you to think before you act, to be more intentional throughout your day, and to be more mindful with every choice you make.