The Freedom to Choose

Issue #41

I believe that everything in life is a choice. We choose how we get up in the morning. We choose how we go to work. We choose our attitudes.

We have little or no control over what happens to us. We can be in a car accident, be diagnosed with cancer, or get fired from our job. We have no control over preventing these things from happening. We only have control over how we respond to what happens to us. We have 100% control of our attitude. As Frankl says, we have the freedom to choose our attitude.

What is your attitude toward your life?  Your art?  What is your attitude toward the people around you? Do you choose to be optimistic?  

Or are you grouchy?  Discouraged?  Negative?  Are you always finding fault with people and the world around you?  Do you continually make sarcastic comments and put people down?  Or do you look for the good in people?  Even the worst of people have some good in them.  

There is a story of a wise old man and a teenage boy who wants to make a fool of the old man. One day, the boy knocked on the door of the wise old man’s home. When he answered, the boy said, “ In my hands is a bird. Is it alive, or is it dead?

The old man, understanding the trap the boy was setting for him, answered, “It is as you will it to be. If I say the bird is alive, you will squeeze your hands together and kill the bird. If I say the bird is dead, you will open your hands, and the bird will fly away. It is as you choose it to be.

As creative leaders, we choose our attitudes.  Choose today to be positive, innovative, and inspiring.  Choose to find the silver lining in every dark cloud.  Choose to be a better you, and then you will become a better leader.

Some people believe that freedom means doing whatever one pleases. Nothing could be further from the truth. Freedom is about making choices, and one's choices define who one becomes. People seem to forget that freedom means taking responsibility for oneself and others. Freedom is about choosing which burdens to bear. Freedom is about choosing one's passions and obsessions.

As creative leaders, we are free to express our ideas, beliefs, and opinions in the choices we make. Freedom is not just about our expression but also our obsessions. What are we focused on? Where do we spend our time? What are our passions? What drives us to share?

Freedom is also about choosing to accept our burdens. None of us live without pain or challenge. We all face the darkness that haunts our dreams. We must choose to accept that which weighs us down, to shoulder our responsibilities, to bear the brunt of our pain.

Plant seeds of hope in the hearts of others.