As many of you know Zig Ziglar is a favorite author and speaker of mine. He has a way of saying things that make the complex understandable including this regarding the choices we all have in our lives:
Our success in life is determined by the choices we make. You are going to be making choices that will determine your success as you learn to manage yourself and others. To be effective in making proper choices, you must understand the difference between reacting and responding.
Let’s say you go to the doctor, who then gives you a prescription and tells you to come back the next day. When you go back, if he looks worried and tells you he needs to change the prescription because your body is reacting to the medicine, you’re probably going to be concerned. On the other hand, if he tells you your body is responding to the medicine, you’re going to smile because you know you’re on your way to recovery. So, to react is negative and to respond is positive – the choice is yours! It’s a fact that you can’t tailor-make the situations in life, but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations before they arise.
There are some things that are simply not going to change. If you were born white, you’re going to stay white. If you were born black, you’re going to stay black. I don’t care how much thought you give it, you’re not going to add a single cubit to your height. You’re not going to change when you were born, where you were born, how you were born, or to whom you were born. However, you can choose how you will respond to all of life’s circumstances. All of life is a series of choices. Realize that every choice we make, whether it is good or bad, has consequences! You can choose to get drunk tonight, but when you do, you have chosen to feel miserable tomorrow. You can choose to eat properly today, and when you do, you have chosen to be healthier. All the circumstances in your life will not be positive. You must choose to respond to both the positive and the negative.
As a leader in your organization others can tell a lot about you by how you respond, or react, to the little nuisances that crop up in your day as well as the big obstacles that come along. Lead in such a way that causes others to make wise choices and benefit from those choices.
Our success in life is determined by the choices we make. You are going to be making choices that will determine your success as you learn to manage yourself and others. To be effective in making proper choices, you must understand the difference between reacting and responding.
Let’s say you go to the doctor, who then gives you a prescription and tells you to come back the next day. When you go back, if he looks worried and tells you he needs to change the prescription because your body is reacting to the medicine, you’re probably going to be concerned. On the other hand, if he tells you your body is responding to the medicine, you’re going to smile because you know you’re on your way to recovery. So, to react is negative and to respond is positive – the choice is yours! It’s a fact that you can’t tailor-make the situations in life, but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations before they arise.
There are some things that are simply not going to change. If you were born white, you’re going to stay white. If you were born black, you’re going to stay black. I don’t care how much thought you give it, you’re not going to add a single cubit to your height. You’re not going to change when you were born, where you were born, how you were born, or to whom you were born. However, you can choose how you will respond to all of life’s circumstances. All of life is a series of choices. Realize that every choice we make, whether it is good or bad, has consequences! You can choose to get drunk tonight, but when you do, you have chosen to feel miserable tomorrow. You can choose to eat properly today, and when you do, you have chosen to be healthier. All the circumstances in your life will not be positive. You must choose to respond to both the positive and the negative.
As a leader in your organization others can tell a lot about you by how you respond, or react, to the little nuisances that crop up in your day as well as the big obstacles that come along. Lead in such a way that causes others to make wise choices and benefit from those choices.
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