Choices
Thoughts forwarded to me.
Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”
He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?”
Michael replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood of you can choose to be in a bad mood.
I choose to be in a good mood.
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or … I can choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or … I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”
“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy, “I protested … “Yes, it is.” Michael said.
“Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.
The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live your life.”
I reflected on what Michael said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard the Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?”
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
“The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter,” Michael replied. “Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or … I could choose to die. I chose to live.”
“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.
Michael continued, “… the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I say the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.
In their eyes, I read “he’s a dead man; I knew I needed to take action.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Well, there was a beg burly nurse shouting questions at me,” said Michael,
“She asked if I was allergic to anything”
“Yes, I replied” The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply I took a deep breath and yelled, “Gravity.”
Over their laughter, I told them, “I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead. “Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself, each day has enough trouble of its own.” After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
You have two choices now:
1. Do nothing and keep getting what you are already getting out of life.
2. Forward these thoughts to other people. You know the choice I made.
Enjoy each day, each breath and mostly … each and every friend.
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