This article was first published on  Maria Shriver’s Website as an Architect of Change. 
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You always have a choice.

It’s a wonderful thing to know that at any moment you have the freedom and the ability to choose what to do and how to live your life.

It’s the greatest gift we get from life.

Yes, it sounds easy but it can be the hardest thing in the world to do…to make a choice and then live with it because the choices you make create your life; make you who you are.

They are your present. They are your future. They are your destiny.

Everything Is a Choice

We choose yogurt over eggs. Shoes over sneakers. Choose our friends. Choose to be negative over a positive way of thinking. We choose to judge and have opinions. To be a victim or a hero. The world shows us things and we make choices about them and they become our beliefs and core values.

It’s an amazing gift – the freedom of choice — because if you want to change, to be different in any way because something doesn’t stand for you, you are free to do that. You’re free to choose kindness over cruelty…understanding and love over anger and hatred.

Life is full of choices.

A Choice Poem

‘Autobiography in Five Chapters’ by Portia Nelson is a simple story that says — either life is an accident and we’re all victims or you can make other choices that will enable you to live the life you desire most. It’s your choice. Be aware. Be active. Get out of resignation and confusion. See what’s actually going on and make the best choice you can and change direction.

Life is both easy and hard. Sometimes it knocks you down regularly but even then you have the power to choose how you want to experience life. You don’t have to be helpless. You can choose to fight for change, to improve and grow, choose to look on the bright side and find something you’re grateful for, proud of, something that makes you happy and strong even at your lowest.

Maybe you want to eat better, to stop complaining about people or to give up an addiction. It can be a hell of a challenge to choose a piece of fruit over a bag of chips, to find something you respect in someone else, to stop smoking or drinking.

1. See what you want.

2. See what the choice is really about.

3. Take one small step and start the change.

Change is a choice. Change is a process. Life is a process we’re all living in. Let’s enjoy it.

“Autobiography in Five Chapters” by Portia Nelson

Chapter 1

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost…I am helpless.
It is not my fault.
It takes forever to find my way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in this same place.
It is still not my fault.
It takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit now.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

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Thanks – Michael

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