The fact that we always have a choice is a harsh reality to have to face for most of us especially when we are confronting seemingly impossible and unresolvable problems. Having someone like me say ‘we always have a choice’ can at the least be irritating, and at worst seem insulting and demoralising. Of course, on a personal and global level the state of our world and our ability to navigate it can be draining, relentless and create a sense of hopelessness for many – if not all day every day, then at times.
Our choice at a base level though, in every situation, is in how we respond to the situation. That’s about the degree to which we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed and take it out on others and the degree to which we choose to find ways to resource ourselves so that we can find the inner peace to stand and embrace the challenge of the moment with grace.
Yes, I know, it’s easy to put these words on paper. For me though, there is much inspiration to be drawn from that famous quote from Viktor Frankl, “When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.” (Man’s Search for Meaning).
We always have the choice to make inner change – to view the situation from a different perspective, to find new resources within ourselves and, in doing so, re-enter the world with renewed capacity and capability.
As leaders, we exercise choice every day in the external decisions we take. But to what extent do we allow ourselves to be changed on the inside by some of the wicked problems we confront and to really lean into the responsibility of choice-making? Here again, I feel drawn to share one of my favourite leadership quotes
The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination.
~ John Schaar
Choosing, making decisions be they on the outer level or the inner is both a right and a responsibility. Free will is a gift and a right, and one that needs to be cherished as a cornerstone of being human, and in that we then need to engage with the responsibility to constantly examine the choices we make and our underpinning motivations.
Let’s be the best leaders we can be by allowing ourselves to be changed for the better by the choices we make on our own behalf and for those we have the privilege to lead.
