Two Things You Need To Know About Your Life

There are two things you need to know about your life:

1. Dying is not a choice.
2. Everything else is. Everything!

Allow me to explain.

If you were born, then you will die.  That’s the rule.  There is no getting around it, it’s a package deal.  You don’t get to choose not to die.  You also don’t get to choose when, where or how you are going to die.  Everyone dies. Men and women, rich and poor, sinners and saints.  One day, our time on this earth will come to an end.  If you would like some help accepting this, I suggest you start with my Mortality Manifesto.

But here’s the good news! Although dying is not a choice, everything else in our lives IS a choice.  Absolutely everything!

I’m sure that some of you are mentally arguing with me right now.
“It wasn’t my choice to lose my job!”
“It wasn’t my choice to be in a car accident!”
“It wasn’t my choice to be raped!”
“It wasn’t my choice to…”

Even when it seems like we don’t have a choice – we do.  (sshhh! Come closer – I’m about to tell you the meaning of life!)  Ready?? …There is no meaning of life!  At least not until we give it one.  Life just is.  Things just are. People do what people do.  Stuff happens.  It’s you and I that are constantly assigning meanings to everything.  A snowstorm is just a snowstorm – it doesn’t mean anything.  If you are a commuter facing snarled traffic on a Friday drive home you will assign one meaning to that snowstorm.  If I am the owner of a ski resort who is now anticipating a booming weekend, I will assign a completely different meaning to that snowstorm.  Same snow, different meaning.  If you’re still not convinced that the quality of our lives is dictated by the meanings we choose to assign to everything, then you need to read (or re-read) Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

Once we realize that we have complete control over the meanings we assign to things, we gain a tremendous amount of power.  In fact, if we really take this seriously, we can tap into an unlimited supply of power and energy.  Just for a moment, I want you to imagine living your life without ever feeling like you are a victim of other people or external circumstances.  What would that life look like and how different would it be from the one you’re experiencing right now?

(Seriously – take a moment and do this.  Don’t worry, you can go back to your regular life in two minutes – or never – if that’s what you choose.)

If you aren’t happy with the results you’ve been getting so far, or even if you are happy but know that there is always room for more, NOW is the time to make the change!  All it takes is a choice.

Isn’t it time that you begin to choose the life you want?

If you are interested in how to do this, then stay tuned!  That is precisely what I am going to be writing and speaking about in the upcoming weeks and months. Also, please forward this to friends and let them in on the secret – it applies to their lives too!

(PS: Getting back to Point #1, the ‘death thing’, for a moment… although dying is not a choice, the meaning we choose to assign to it absolutely is!  Even more exciting: once you accept and begin to really use Point #2 on a consistent daily basis, you won’t even care about Point #1 anymore!)