I am in control of my life
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011I was recently reading about someone who had a 90 minute commute to work and felt that they had no choice in the matter. I would never waste that much of my life (3 hours a day!) traveling to work for someone else, especially as I have children who I want to see in the evenings. It’s very important to remember that we ALWAYS have a choice in what we do, from tiny choices that are made many times a day (e.g. drinking water versus pop), to huge choices such as having children or moving to a new country.
I have a piece of paper that I wrote in 1999 on a noticeboard in front of me. It says “I am in control of my life” so that I never forget that.
Here are some choices I’ve made:
– I moved continent (from UK to Canada) and I could move back if I wanted to.
– I quit a well paid job recently and went indie. In fact I did the same back in 2005 when I stopped making business software.
– I could move to Poland or Ukraine or Malaysia and live cheaply, but I choose not to.
– I found a place for a family of 4 + cat in Point Grey for $2200 a month. Still not cheap, but much better than the average price around here.
– I choose not to have any more kids.
– I choose to drive a car, I could ditch it and save $500 a month on auto loan/insurance.
– I chose vegetarianism and healthy eating 20+ years ago and it has kept me slim.
– I chose Aikido 14 years ago and kept doing it every week no matter what.
Life is full of choices including radical ones. People are often blinded by their current life situation and blame external circumstances, but that is victim mentality. Making “better” choices is not always easy. It takes time to develop the awareness that you have a choice and the willpower to make it.
What choices could you make today that will improve your life?