Choose and Be Awesome

At the risk of sounding repetitive, today my mind keeps wandering back to the topic of “choice.”

 I like talking about choices.  I do it with my kids all the time.  They learn choice and consequence.  That relationship is one of the most valuable things I can teach them.  Likewise, at work, I tend to do the same thing; I’m either talking about choice or pointing out consequences to the people with whom I work.  I hope I don’t come across as a pompous sort of dude.  I just think that it often helps to have an outside observer making links between things because we can get a little too close to a situation to really look at it objectively.  We’ve all been there.  I try to offer a different perspective.

 So, here is my perspective on choice in the workplace.  Life is the sum of choices.  We observe and live through crazy things at work.  Sometimes, they are cool.  Sometimes, they turn our stomachs.  Always, they represent opportunities for us to choose.  Nobody should have to live a life that forces them to compromise who they are.  So, don’t compromise.  Instead, study each situation, gather your facts, and then match what you’ve learned against what you believe.  At that point, choose. 

 Choose to stay or choose to leave.  Never, ever choose to settle.  You do no good to anyone…to me, to yourself, to your teammates, to your fellow human beings…if you compromise, settle, and warm a seat. Instead, commit.  Commit to this or that, but commit. 

And, as I like to say, then go and be awesome.