Life is a Sum Total of Choices.

 
Today is my half yearly medical check-up at Jurong Polyclinic and I called it my rest day, albeit without pay.

Since I've some time on my hand, I would like to share with you an article that I came across recently that reads like a compass in life - human wisdom that provides guidance for living a good life. If I were much younger, I would surely use it as my guide in managing my life. Maybe you would like to share your thoughts, just like I did, on this topic of life's choices.

Here is the article entitled "Good Choices Great Lives" 

"Life is full of choices and opportunities. However, some choices will have a greater impact on your life than others. There are a few choices that will dramatically impact the quality of your life no matter when you make that choice. 

So one must know them and the best of them! 

Friendships:
The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you.

Consider this: Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone who's not going anywhere.

With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. "A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses."

The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad.

Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends. Yes...do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they will always be your family no matter what. Just know that they are human first and though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else and will fit somewhere in the criteria above.

"In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us. In Adversity We Know Our friends."

"Never make someone a priority when you are only an option for them." "If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.." 

(My thought: How true! I think we should wisely select our friends, instead of letting them select us. It's better to have 2 good friends than a dozens of the "good weather ones") 

Careers:

Making the choice between passion and practicality is something you really should take seriously in your career. I didn’t do it in my younger years and as a result my life was miserable in numerous ways. My health deteriorated, I was depressed, and I was always angry or anxiety ridden. A career takes up a significant part of your life, up to 65% of your day in many cases. If you hate what you do, then think about what kind of things you are going to attract into your life. The majority of your time, energy, and thoughts are being directed to your misery. It’s a simple application of the law of attraction at work. 

(My thought:  In the beginning of our working life, the majority of us do not have a clear idea of what we really like in a job. As we embarked on a discovery trip in our job, the picture becomes clearer and we eventually know what kind of career we really want. A perfect career fit is possible if you are willing to listen to what your family, teachers and good friends say about your personality, strength and weakness. More importantly, you must have the courage to make the change as early as possible. The reason for Warren Buffett's success is :"He does what he loves". Recently departed Steve Jobs said likewise: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it." 

Relationships: Your choice in relationships not only alters the quality of your life, but the quality of someone else’s. So, if you make a bad choice you run the risk of making two people’s lives miserable. Of course the opposite is true as well. If you make the right choice then you double the joy that goes out into the world and bring more of it back to you. Have you ever noticed how at the beginning of a relationship when you start dating somebody, everything seems too be perfect. You have a great time together and everything goes smoothly and you seem to be on a roll of attracting positive experiences into your life. Then, you stop getting along, and everything else goes to hell too. So, make sure you choose wisely.

(My thought: Don't ever believe that you can change to please your partner or hoping your partner will change for the love of you. That's a delusion. Instead ask early if both of you can accept each other the way you are. Your relationship has a very long expiry date. So, be honest and practical, especially when money matters are involved.)

To extrapolate our personal choice onto a national level, the choice we make on polling day, determines the kind of government we want.....One that serves and take care of its citizens or one that goes after A First World status with highest GDP but with scant regard of the former.