I could have if only…If I hadn’t been… What if?

We can all look back on our lives and try to find all sorts of explanations for how we got where we are. Cause and effect… karma… being in the right place at the right time…or the wrong place at the wrong time… a chance encounter… divine intervention… being in the flow… connecting the dots.”
These are the words of American Idol music director Rickey Minor, in his book There’s No Traffic on the Extra Mile.

Like Minor, I believe few things are simply chance happenings. We are usually exactly where we chose to be. As we head into the end of the first half of this year, where are you in relation to the goals you set for yourself when it began? Has time somehow slipped away from you or did you not have enough time to begin to implement the changes that would head you toward your goals?

There are 1,440 minutes in a day. No matter what you do, you are not going to get more time. Some believe it is simply a matter of time management, yet time cannot be managed. You can’t save it or lose it. You don’t get more time tomorrow than you have today. Since you can’t change time, you must change the way you approach it.

Chinese author and philosopher Lin Yutang said, “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists of the elimination of nonessentials.” I like this philosophy a great deal. While you may be able to have anything you want in life, you can’t have everything you want. You have to choose. Excellence comes from doing the right things right and letting go of the rest. This is a valuable lesson for all of us who try to do it all. Business consultant Michael LeBoef wrote, “Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing.”

Consider how you are spending your time. Everything you do is something you have chosen to do. Your life is what you are making it. Tomorrow is still going to have 1,440 minutes no matter what you do. So, if you can’t change time, to change your life you need to change your priorities. You have the same amount of time everyone else has, it is how you choose to use your time that is in question. Make conscious choices and assume responsibility for these decisions.

Consider that the path which has brought you to this place in your life was not a result of chance, but of choice. Each day we are faced with many opportunities, and it is the choices we make and the actions we take that will determine where life will lead us. What if?…I could have if only…I hadn’t chosen to take another path!

Even though we cannot control all that happens in our lives we can choose how we respond. Live your life by choice, not chance.