The important choices we get to make

I am reading the book entitled Life’s Greatest Lessons: 20 things that matter written by Hal Urban. I now just quoted a piece of part of this book to share with all of you.

• It wasn’t our choice to be born into the world. And it’s not our choice that someday we are going to die. However, the period in between, the one we call life, present us with countless choices. There are some obvious ones due to the nature of our society. We can choose our friends, careers, lifestyles, political affiliations, faith, where to live, what kind of car to drive, and what kind of music to listen to. But there are some other choices which, while less obvious, are far more important. We’re either unaware of them or just don’t give them much thought. Yet, they’re the choices that determine the quality of our lives.

• We’re free to choose our character-the type of persons we become. We can allow ourselves to be molded by others and our environment; we can commit ourselves to self-development. We can become less than we’re capable of, or we can become all that we’re capable of.

• We’re free to choose our value. We can let the media tell us what’s important, or we can decide for ourselves. We can base our standards on what others are doing, or we can base them on what we know is right and good.

• We’re free to choose how to treat other people. We can put them down, or we can lift them up. We can be self-centered and inconsiderate, or we can be respectful, kind and helpful.

• We’re free to choose how to handle adversity. We can allow ourselves to be crushed, to give up and to feel sorry for ourselves. Or we can choose to look for a source of strength within us, to persevere, and to make the most out of what life deals us.

• We’re free to choose how much we’ll learn. We can look upon learning as an unpleasant duty or as a great opportunity for bettering ourselves. We can be close-minded or open-minded, we can be stagnant or we can grow.

• We’re free to choose what we’ll accomplish in life. We can allow our circumstances or other people to determine what we make of ourselves, or we can choose our own direction and goals. We can be undisciplined and lazy or we can be self-disciplined and hardworking.

• We’re free to choose our own belief system. We can ignore our spiritual nature, or we can accept it as an important dimension of life. We can worship pleasure and the world’s material things, or we can look for something that’s ultimately more important.

• We’re to choose our own purpose. We can wander aimlessly, or we can search for a meaning in life, and then live according to it. We can live to please only ourselves, or we can find a cause that’s greater, one that helps us understand and appreciate life more fully.

• We’re free to choose our attitude regardless of circumstances. This is the most important choice we’ll ever make because it affects everything we do in life.