How do you make choices? Have you ever thought about this? How do you decide what movie to see? What to order at a restaurant? What color to paint your kitchen? Which person to marry? Which job to take? Where to live? If you are like most people, you decide by how you feel, primarily. It may be that you don't really think about it much.
I didn't think about it much either until middle age when I realized that I was just reacting to whatever happened and making decisions on how I happened to feel at the moment. It occured to me that since my life is made up of the choices I make, choosing without thought - just by how I happen to feel - may not be a good idea. I would rather make choices based on my values and my life's purpose. It took me a lot of years to discover - or really even care - about my values or my life's purpose. Now that I know I try to remember to bring those along when I make choices. It may seem a little silly to use values and purpose to decide what to eat, but since my values and purpose align with health and enjoyment of life...well, you can see how that works.
There are a lot of ways to discover your purpose and values: A consistent practice of meditation. Reading books about values and purpose. Even Google can lead you to a lot of methods. Wouldn't you rather have a life built on real choice rather than chance?
Empowerment enhances the ability of individuals or organizations to make choices and transform those choices into positive outcomes. Empowered people have recognized their own value and strength and their capacity to handle life's problems. In turn they are better able to influence the course of their lives. With information and support, most people can find within themselves the power to direct their lives and reach their dreams.
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