“Poor questions and choices cause a man his own destruction” Ken D. Foster

I want you to picture yourself two years from now. Imagine that in those two years, you are required to make significant changes in your life. You have been given all the resources to make positive choices that will create positive outcomes. It is your last day of those two years and you will be given no more resources or opportunities to grow. You will remain stuck for all eternity. How does that feel? How does it feel to know that you wasted two years doing the same thing over and over again and gained no positive change? Sounds scary, doesn’t it?

 Well, this is reality for many people. One day you wake up and realize that your life has been filled and fueled by habits that inhibit your personal growth. You create your own life. You have created your own reality by the choices you have made.

 To start with making positive choices in your life, first make a choice to respond with kindness. Choose to take the road less traveled. Try not react in vengeance or payback to those who did you wrong.  When we are kind to those who wronged us, we feel empowered and experience self-love.

 There is a difference between a reaction and a response. A reaction is emotional and immature, whereas, a response is logical and mature. Once you can master that, your choice has empowered you. For example; every event evokes an emotion. Your emotion contributes to a response or a reaction. In a split second, your choice to respond or react can determine a positive or negative outcome. When you make the choice to react, you only damage yourself. You can become angry, stressed, anxious and worrisome; none of which are good for you. When you choose to react to an event or a situation, you lose your personal power. You have handed over power to your emotions. Once you can master your own emotions, the choices you will make in the future will be more responsive and logical. We create the outcome in everything we do and say.

 Choices can also disempower you and force you to remain stuck in old habits. Look back at something that happened in your life recently. Was there a decision that you made where you could have responded differently? What was that event? What choice did you make to diffuse the situation? Did you react? Did you respond? How does it feel looking back on that event? Could you have responded differently to it to have created a more positive outcome? You must learn to become detailed and specific about the choices you make or you will continue to repeat the same habits which in turn will have the same outcome.

Fear is a choice. Fear can be your best friend AND your worst enemy. Wouldn’t you rather embrace fear of the unknown than run away from it? I know this sounds cliché, but imagine 30 years from now and you are looking back on your life. Would there be something that you wish you had done, but chose not to because of fear? I am sure there is. We don’t move forward in life without taking some sort of positive risks. We also don’t get anywhere from worrying about the “what if’s”. The “what if’s” will hold you back from the success you want to see in yourself.

What choice can you make today to move yourself forward whether you are scared or not? The goal here is to get you unstuck from making poor, useless, and unproductive choices. Let’s make the change.

How do you do that? First, you have to be aware of the energy that surrounds the choice you are about to make. Take, for example, your breakfast. If you reach for oatmeal first thing in the morning, you know it has health benefits. It will give you more energy and lower your cholesterol, so we hear. Doesn’t that sound more beneficial than reaching for frosted flakes? How would you rather start your day? Healthy or Unhealthy?

Here is a choice menu for you to try:

Begin taking ownership of your life and the choices you made in the past: Accept and Surrender to it. It is what it is and you cannot change the past. The only thing you can do is change your future by making positive choices.

Every single morning make the choice to feel great. Before you step foot on the ground, tell yourself it is going to be a great day and you will feel and be awesome

Take pride in everything you do. Go into it with a positive attitude. Remember, you cannot change people or situations at times, but you can change your response to them

Here is your weekly introspection.

Ask yourself this question every morning:

WHAT ACTION STEP(S) CAN I TAKE TODAY THAT WILL DETERMINE POSITIVE AND SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES?

To find out more about Ken Foster and his programs go to www.premiercoaching.com or www.theentrepreneursedgecoaching.com and check out his latest bestselling book at www.asksucceed.com.