chess

Just like in the game of chess, you have no control over what others will do, but you can decide what you will do.

This is not a popular way of thinking in today’s society. Too many want to blame someone else for their problems, or they simply want to justify their poor choices. Fact of the matter is, aside from tragedy, you are never a victim of your circumstance. You have a choice. You make decisions. Even when it is a matter of “running out of time” to meet a deadline, you have made a choice to let the clock run out, by setting your priorities in a certain order, which have made room for your needs or for your desires.

Everyone has been given 24 hours in each day; each day has exactly 1440 minutes. The CEO of a corporation has no more, no less than you and me. We have no more, no less than the homeless person in downtown, urban America. We each have a choice how we will spend each and every day. Life doesn’t just run you over by accident. You make a choice everyday to either run life or let it run you. It is surely a rough place when life is running you. When this happens, it is not because you just “happen” to become a victim. You have chosen to become a victim, and you have chosen to let life run you over.

You may want to argue with me, but it is a fact. You have exactly what you have chosen to have in live, because you have what you value. If you value education, you have an education. If you value sports, you have a sports-centered life. If you value wealth, you have wealth. If you value family, you have a family. The list can go on and on. You have exactly what you value in life.

Yes, I understand, you can’t control others, and others can mess up your choices. That’s where tragedy is involved, as in a tragic car wreck which debilitates you; a spouse who decides to cheat and leave you, which changes your family dynamics; a child who dies unexpectedly, which drastically alters your course in life. I get it, and I’m definitely not trying to sound callous and hard hearted. I have had tragedies in my own life which have changed some of my original plans. I’m also not addressing tragedy in this post; however, I will say, there are too many success stories, even in the face of tragedy, to dwell on the possibility that you cannot arise from disaster, but I digress, that is a post for another day.

Simply put, if you don’t feel as if you can choose the things you want in life, I’d have to ask you, “Where have you placed your values?” If we can ever get real honest with ourselves on the answer to this simple question, we are able to assess exactly why we are where we are in life. When we can take the huge spotlight of Truth, and shine it on every decision we have made, we can truly evaluate the why’s of our situation in life.

This is a very difficult process for so many people, especially when the culture screams to us, “Everything bad in life must be someone else’s fault. It can’t possibly be because I have made bad choices for myself!” It’s a tense place to be when we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and realize we have royally messed up, and it may take a while, and a lot of hard work, to get back to where we want to be. However, if we can ever get to this point, we will realize that success, and all our dreams, are really possible! We might just have to rearrange our priorities, and apply a little more effort, to make them happen; however, it is possible!

So, make a decision today. Don’t let life just run over you, and never choose to be a victim! Be a winner!! You can do it!! 😉