Tag Archives: taking charge

Free Will

When you come to a fork in the road, choose free will. Free will represents the exercise of power to act without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion.

It may seem at times the choice is not yours to make due to arbitrary constraints, external pressures, forced needs or just happenstance.  Ultimately though, choosing free will is always the best choice.

Use the Power Within

Each of us has the ability to create and use earned power.  We all have the ability to select, influence and change an outcome (i.e., the exercise of free will) even when we are not specifically granted that authority.

This is not the default state though and the exercise of free will requires skill and effort.  When you are presented with options and need to decide your personal approach, the exercise of free will can be the most satisfying but also may be the most difficult approach.

For me, the mantra is “I choose free will”.

It is Satisfying

The most powerful argument for the exercise of free will is the associated pleasure it gives you.  It feels good to take charge of our destiny and while not usually the easiest path it is certainly the most personally fulfilling.

Of course, as will all things balance is key.  Taking charge and blatantly exercising your free will can harm relationships with others and the overall result could be catastrophic.

So do take care, but don’t dodge undertaking the use of your free will because it is too hard.  Ultimately it is worth it.

 

 

Right does not give carte blanche

The French language includes a phrase that describes situations where you have unlimited discretionary power to act as you see fit The term is “carte blanche”.

Often we translate the correctness of our position to carte blanche.  That is to say, I often observe others behave as they see fit because they firmly believe they are in the right.

Win the fight, lose the battle

Being right might translate to winning an argument but at what cost?  You might be correct, but your actions could lead you to regret the way you behave as a result.

Think of a fight you had with a partner, spouse or close friend that ended with a victory.   Did you feel good about the result or was the damage to the relationship the overriding consideration that ultimately left you feeling miserable.

Being right and acting accordingly can lead to sadness and remorse.  How you behave in a given situation is better driven by the results you seek rather than righteousness.

Feeling Good

If your actions lead you to feel bad about yourself, what’s the point.  Road rage can provide a good analogy of focusing on what makes sense rather than who is right.

I recently heard of a case where a car cut off another and an accident was barely avoided.  The driver that was correct in their driving practices leaped from his car in anger with a weapon in hand.

The right was on his side and his intent to punish the offending driver was logically justified.  He had been wronged and the other deserved to have that point clarified.

Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately, depending on your perspective) the police were near at hand and the road rage was ended with the driver who was in the right being arrested.

Case in point, being right does not always lead to the best outcomes.