Choice - a short essay to provoke debate

<p>It is tempting to say that life has been good to me, only that would consign me to the human condition; our ever present need to absolve ourselves of all responsibility. But what am I saying? After all I am human and therefore constrained by those very conditions that define and limit our humanity, or at least, our humanness.</p><p>Actually, I do not believe this, because I resist the opening paradigm that seems to depict a sedentary approach to life in which we observe it as it rushes headlong towards us and passes us by – oh, how many times have I heard that phrase used as justification for intransigence, for existing when we should be living?</p><p>But do we not have a choice? And what is choice?</p><p>For one thing it has definitely been the subject of many a good debate; fate against determinism; goal led against goal driven; the human privilege to exercise choice against external direction – or a higher direction. And here I begin to build my case against another travesty of the human condition that constructs a trap for us at every turn – the conjurors’ primary device; Hobson’s choice. The appearance of choice, presented in such a way that we are conditioned, or channelled, down some predetermined path. And the deception drives still deeper because, not only does it present an illusion of choice, it also reinforces the impression that we can only choose between one of two possible outcomes; that is, if we do not choose <em>a</em> then <em>b</em> will surely follow.</p><p>Now, suppose there exists an option <em>c</em>? Why stop at <em>c</em>?</p><p>Well, the amazing thing about <em>c</em> is that <em>c</em> is any and every other possible outcome that you can imagine – the choice that allows other choices to exist.</p><p>So, you can do nothing and just let your life pass you by, or you can move forward through life and deal with whatever you find there, or you can create the life that you choose. You can let a beautiful garden come to you through the pages of a magazine, or you can go and walk through that beautiful garden, or you can create a beautiful garden that is yours.</p><p>In the workplace, you can simply execute the tasks you are given, or you can actively seek those tasks that need to be performed while observing the written and unwritten rules of the operation, or you can challenge those unhelpful rules, those unhelpful beliefs, and those unhelpful structures (which only serve to shackle your colleagues and shackle your business) and, in so doing, create a better and more successful organisation.</p><p>Do not be deterred by obstacles that appear to block your way, they only exist if you allow them to. Remember, nothing has any meaning except the meaning that we choose to accept.</p><p>Finally, do not take the path of least resistance; don’t drift through the doors that are obviously open, just because they are there; choose those interesting doors that appear to be shut – you will find they easily open. And, if at first they seem to be stuck, do not worry, it is just an illusion aimed at driving away those without determination – if we only do what we ever did we can only expect what we ever got. So, shun the materialistic clamour to obtain whatever you want, and acknowledge the altruistic acceptance of whatever you choose, because the things you want are always just out of reach or require just too much effort, while the things that we choose have already moved from dream to reality.</p><p>We may not be able to choose the things that happen to us, but we can choose how we feel and react to them.</p>