The Power of Choice

Join Best-selling author Gary Westfal as he describes the details behind the greatest power you have - your power of choice. 

Your ability to respond to the various situations and circumstances life throws at you has everything to do with the current state of your life. If you like your life, keep making the choices and decisions you've been making. If you don't, it's time to consider the alternative choices that you can make. Let Gary show you WHY you keep making the choices you've been making and HOW to change the course of your life by making new choices. Doing so can help you to...

Live Your Best Life!

Transcript

00:00:01 - 00:01:07

Greetings everyone, and welcome to G-Life Magazine. A podcast that offers you the best insight and inspiration for the biggest impact on how to live your best life. I'm your host, Gary Westfal. Today's focus is…The Power of Choice. You have a lot more power than you give yourself credit for. Mindset is the cornerstone to everything we do in life. The great Napoleon Hill perhaps summarized it best when he said, “Thoughts are things and they create your reality.” Hmmm. Reality. Now, we could get into a discussion entirely dedicated to that concept at another time. For now, let's stay focused on one superpower at a time, shall we? Choices, decisions. They define the course, content, condition, and construct of our lives. No one can escape this reality. 

00:01:07 - 00:02:12

In fact, it's fair to say that the very state of your life as you currently know it is based entirely on the choices and decisions you've made to this very point. Most people haven't discovered their superpower. You see, you have the incredible power to make a decision whenever you want. The focus here is not so much on the decision to DO things, but rather the decision ABOUT things. Ah, yes, I'm talking about your perspective. Some people call this an opinion. We form our opinions based on our perspectives. Your perspectives influence the way you feel about things, which drives your actions. In other words, your decision about something affects whether you will actually DO something. Your perspective also determines your experiences in life. Your experiences shape your beliefs. Now follow me on this. Your beliefs determine your thoughts, which determine your decisions. 

00:02:13 - 00:03:09

Whatever you believe you will think, and you'll decide accordingly. So, allow me to pause for a second to recap and provide a snapshot of this decision path. It's your beliefs that drive your thoughts that drive your feelings that drive your actions that lead to the production of your results. This is a cyclical process that has an influence on the entirety of your experiences. Whenever you're stuck in life is typically the result of thinking the wrong thinking. Follow me on this. Your thoughts drive the mindset you employ as you determine the conclusions you draw on any given situation. When something new takes place, your brain automatically associates your present situation with the past experience and then does its best to draw a conclusion that's in line with your current beliefs. 

00:03:10 - 00:04:04

If this describes you, you can relax because it simply means you're human. But it would be wise of you to take note that you should become more aware of your internal world in order to make any changes to your external world. I'll say that again because it deserves to be repeated. The increased awareness of your internal world gives you the power to change your external world. Okay, all good. But how do we go about increasing our awareness? First, you have an incredible ability to respond. In fact, you have a response-ability, a responsibility to decide how you'll react to any given situation. Awareness is the key to that response. Your awareness influences your decisions which influence your response. Your response determines the results you get from life. 

00:04:05 - 00:04:50

The key to most everything we want lies in what we don't know or what we THINK we know. Awareness is the key to revealing the truth. Once you know the truth, you'll be much better equipped to make better decisions. Focus on the WHY and HOW will always take care of itself. Too many people are consumed with how to do something. Just take a look at YouTube. How-to videos dominate the search engine. But if you focus on why you're doing something, your decisions will take on far greater meaning that will compel and sustain your momentum. The reason most of us don't make new decisions is because we believe we have overwhelming evidence that supports the old decision. 

00:04:51 - 00:05:49

In reality, what we have is old information that has created the thoughts and beliefs that are difficult to overcome…until we become aware enough to change them. So, is it really possible to make a new decision? Yes! When you realize this, be sure to make a decision that's congruent with a life you desire. Then commit to it. Align your decisions with the outcomes you desire. Decisions shape the way we see the world. The fact is, there is a limiting belief behind virtually everything we're trying to accomplish. When you operate against yourself, you operate in a low-energy state. Low energy dissipates the energy on all of the emotions required to keep you operating in an optimal state. When you're in a low energy state, your brain automatically searches for problems, which prolongs your low-energy state. 

00:05:50 - 00:06:36

Then it becomes perpetual. In other words, the same old circumstances begin to repeat themselves. This only reinforces our belief that the circumstances are difficult to escape. Successful people do the opposite. They recognize old decisions and do everything they can to overcome them by making new decisions. Once you become aware that you're relying on old, outdated thoughts to assess new situations, you'll be better prepared to take action to overpower your beliefs, reframe your perspective, and chart a course to your new intended destination by making new decisions. The moment you commit yourself is the very moment your life turns away from the old beliefs and steps into a brand-new state of mind. 

00:06:37 - 00:07:30

It's in this new state of mind where the magic of awareness takes place and change begins to evidence itself. Your beliefs are the lens from which you view life. You have the power to believe whatever you want, but if you have conflicting beliefs, you'd be wise to realign those beliefs to support the new choices and decisions you need to make to achieve the results you desire. Want to know how to be limitless? Make a decision! Making a decision opens the pathways to everything you hope to achieve, yet you haven't actually done anything at all but make a decision. The moment you make a decision is the moment you access your power. Making a decision changes everything. Don't concern yourself with how your results will materialize. 

00:07:31 - 00:07:54

You don't have to wait for anything to happen before you make a decision. All you have to do is be aware of the choices and decisions you've made. Make choices and decisions that serve your best interest. While this may seem selfish to some, I'll remind you that you're absolutely no good to anyone if YOU aren't right First. Besides, this topic today is all about you. 

00:07:56 - 00:08:50

Visualize your new decision. See it. Then act on the ideas and inspiration that come from your new choices and decisions. If you commit to making new choices and decisions, you'll begin seeing ideas you haven't seen before. You’ll begin finding pathways and solutions to your decisions that have been right in front of you all along - the ones your brain was ignoring. You will activate the power of coincidence. The power of coincidence, by the way, is not coincidental. Things happen for a reason. In this case, that reason is tied directly to the power of your decisions. When you operate outside of your limiting beliefs and your old stories, you open yourself up to a power and intelligence far greater than yourself. 

00:08:50 - 00:09:44

That power gives you a reflection on what it is you need to work on. So, when you experience something undesirable, that experience leads to a thought that connects to the story you keep telling yourself. That thought is the revelation. When the revelation occurs, you must be acutely aware of what's going on in your mind as you're going through an experience. It's fairly easy to pick up on when this occurs because the experience tends to ignite the emotions. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this is one of the only times emotions can serve us well. When you realize that your emotions are in play, you immediately gain the upper hand and can take control of any situation or circumstance. This is awareness. Awareness gives you control through the power of choice to change any given situation. 

00:09:45 - 00:10:42

When you are in control, you have the power to lead with logic, love, compassion, understanding, or any other more favorable tools you have to shape the situation. Remember, every experience is a blessing. Consider the following statement. Nothing wrong ever happens. Ah, I can picture the eye-rolls as some people wrap their minds around that statement. However, if you'll consider the fact that the path is always illuminated with a purpose, whether or not you see it now…or later…then truth begins to resonate, at least to some extent. Life re calibrates moment by moment…by moment, based on the choices and decisions we make. If this is true, then why don't we make better decisions that correct the course and construct of our lives? One of the reasons is based on how we are conditioned. 

00:10:43 - 00:11:16

Although we have an ability to predict with some level of certainty what will likely happen in the future based on our current pattern of decisions, we tend to continue making the same decisions that keep us in a, quote, safe place because our mind reaffirms the story-narrative we have that tells us that…what we can see on the horizon is not as certain as things are right now. In other words, we tend to choose safety over certainty. The best way to overcome that, to a large extent, is to master the art of living in a joyful state. 

00:11:17 - 00:12:01

Become acutely aware that the beliefs you've held close to this very point in your life have created the conditions in which you currently find yourself. For some of you, that's an empowering thought. For others, it's a rather sobering thought. Either way, it can empower you with the courage it takes to make better decisions. So, as a reminder, your beliefs drive your choices and decisions, your choices and decisions define the course, quality, and construct of your life. Your ability to achieve is limited by your beliefs. Until you change your beliefs (and your choices and decisions), you'll continue to experience the frustrations and limitations you despise. 

00:12:02 - 00:12:49

To step into awareness, you must define your (current) beliefs. Once those beliefs are exposed, you can begin to see WHY you're making the choices you are and more importantly, begin to understand HOW to realign your beliefs with the goals and aspirations you have to Live Your Best Life! And there you have it. If you enjoyed this podcast, please help spread the work. The G-Life! Magazine podcast is now syndicated on over 18 streaming outlets, so you can find us virtually anywhere you typically listen to your favorite shows. And if there's a topic you like for me to discuss on a future podcast, feel free to reach out to me on my website. Gary Westfall dot com. Until next time, I'm Gary Westfal reminding you to LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE!