Thought for the Day

[OceanBlue]

"Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself." -- Robert F. Bennett

[baltz526]

i disagree, life flows where it will. to attempt to channel it, into a ridged track, will cause discontent.a discontented person is not free. if you set you personal bar to high, you will be constantly banging your head on your idea of success. to be free, is to be content.

[shelikeschrome]

I would not want to live my life in a constant battle for control. Things just don't happen that way. Life is an adventure not a trip through predetermination and I like it that way! Folks need to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy the ride. Being flexible and acceptance of what one has little or no control of is true happiness. Just sitting back and letting things happen right in front of you without trying to control them can be extremely entertaining!
That's not freedom...it's discontent misery, and self inflicted incarceration!!!

[Hooked on Fish]

Wow! This is tooooo deep for comment this early in the morning. :grin:

[shelikeschrome]

Oh come on Bret! Guzzle that coffee!

[Radke]

I think there is a lot of value in accepting that as individuals, we are responsible for what we wring out of this life we live, at least the majority of it. Some chose to complain of their hard life, some chose to make it better.

There are those things that I can't believe are a result of choice however. Dying primarily. You don't have a choice of whether or not, perhaps the method, but even there, not always.

[Thumper]

Well, it was a nice idea. I suspect that Jennie would not agree (aortic dissection, Marfan's, etc.). Those little things tend to screw up the plan.

[STGRule]

I think it just means that you are responsible for what happens in your life. You end up with the consequences of those actions, good and bad. If you make good decisions you can skate through with a clear conscious and a happy heart. At least most of the time. Those that don't make good, clear, thought out choices are usually the first in line to complain about what others have done to them and how unfair it is.

I love a good philosophy discussion first thing in the morning.
(perhaps we need clinking coffee mugs for the morning cheers)

[OceanBlue]

Radke, you hit the nail on the head. The message is about choice, not about control, structure, or anything else. It's about learning to make choices, learning to recognize when you've made a choice and accepting how those choices have affected our lives... ultimately learning to make better choices in the future that will affect us in a more positive way.

While it is true that we have little control over how and when we die, we can choose how we live our lives. How we affect others. How we let others affect us.

[Thumper]

"If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life." -- Robert F. Bennett

I think it was the "all" that went over the top. "Some" might be better.

[flyfish101]

The concept isn't to make your life run in a certain track. But to be in control of the decisions that we make. If you can control your emotions enough to make an intelligent decision....that's when we start to be truly free. You're not free if you just whilly nilly make choices. We are responsible for our behavior, good and bad. Learn to accept them for what they are. And think about what your doing.

[OceanBlue]

Thumper -

Is isn't about 'the plan'. It's about choice. Jennie has something that affects her life. She makes choices for herself that either makes her life better or worse. She chooses every day how she's going to deal with it. A classic example of taking control of her life. Someone who does not recognize choice would lay around and wallow in self-pity and probably would not have lived as long as she. But our Jennie chooses to live her life every day. She chooses to do those things she loves despite her handicap. She chooses to live within her capability rather than focus on the disability.

[baltz526]

If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life.

take control of all aspects, this is the ridged statement.i would insert: you can direct control of all aspects of your life. to take control implies, you would actually have control. all we get to do is point our way in the direction we choose, then outside forces start to influence, or buffet us on the path. to set a ridged outcome in advance, is a path to disapointment.

[Pilar]

Ok, I'll play.

"Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously.

If you believe that there are no random events over which you have no influence then this statement has merit. But I contend that you may have the illusion of choice in many things if you do not accept the arbitrary and random things that can render your choices as moot. The key word is illusion.

Example: You drop your keys as you get in your car to go somewhere. 10 minutes later you find them and fish them out of the storm drain. You then drive to your appointment or errand and pass a recent horrific car crash involving several cars and there are fatalities.

So did you exercise the choice to avoid the car crash by dropping the keys? Or are you experiencing a random event that affects your life? You dropped the keys and by being 10 minutes late you did not get killed or maimed by the drunk driver.

Where is the choice in this? IMHO a person can make good choices based on their inner compass and sense of right and wrong and still get their butt kicked.

If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life.

The concept of choice implies that you are making a conscious decision to do or not do something. Or selecting between options. The use of the word all implies the belief that you are in control and your free will decides your path. This is a very old and beaten to a pulp dead horse in philosophy. It has been argued about as long as there have been philosophers to argue about it. Free will or destiny?

Any philosophers here?

Ok, opinions offered here. Disagree at will but this is what I see and what I think based on a lifetime enrollment in the school of hard knocks.

You are in charge of yourself and how you percieve. Or you should be committed. You are in charge of how you react to or think about things that happen. You are in charge of your inner space and what goes on there. But absolutely not in control of others, how they percieve or what they do.

Control is an illusion at best. And the reality of human experience is neither free will or destiny but some combination of both.

[OceanBlue]

Wow, there seems to be a whole lot of "reading between the lines" going on...

Ok, I'll play.

If you believe that there are no random events over which you have no influence then this statement has merit. But I contend that you may have the illusion of choice in many things if you do not accept the arbitrary and random things that can render your choices as moot. The key word is illusion.

Example: You drop your keys as you get in your car to go somewhere. 10 minutes later you find them and fish them out of the storm drain. You then drive to your appointment or errand and pass a recent horrific car crash involving several cars and there are fatalities.

So did you exercise the choice to avoid the car crash by dropping the keys? Or are you experiencing a random event that affects your life? You dropped the keys and by being 10 minutes late you did not get killed or maimed by the drunk driver.

Where is the choice in this? IMHO a person can make good choices based on their inner compass and sense of right and wrong and still get their butt kicked.

The concept of choice implies that you are making a conscious decision to do or not do something. Or selecting between options. The use of the word all implies the belief that you are in control and your free will decides your path. This is a very old and beaten to a pulp dead horse in philosophy. It has been argued about as long as there have been philosophers to argue about it. Free will or destiny?

Any philosophers here?

Ok, opinions offered here. Disagree at will but this is what I see and what I think based on a lifetime enrollment in the school of hard knocks.

You are in charge of yourself and how you percieve. Or you should be committed. You are in charge of how you react to or think about things that happen. You are in charge of your inner space and what goes on there. But absolutely not in control of others, how they percieve or what they do.

Control is an illusion at best. And the reality of human experience is neither free will or destiny but some combination of both.

Nowhere in the quote did I see anything about controlling other people or events that are obviously beyond control. While I agree that there are some events that happen completely without our influence, we do own at least some responsibility in just about everything that happens to us, no matter how small it might be. We use the word "accident" a lot in our language, but in reality, TRUE accidents are very, very rare. Usually only involving natural disasters. What responsibility did the guy who got hit by a drunk driver have? Was he paying attention? Was there truly nothing he could have done to avoid that collision?

Re-read the quote again - I don't see it as saying we have control over everything in our lives. It states:

If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life.

Meaning that no matter what happens, one can take control of how one deals with it. One can choose how to react. One can choose to be accountable and determine how one might make different choices in the future that might produce a better outcome for oneself.

Or a person can drift along like a kite without a string and choose to accept that life sucks and bad things just keep happening and one has no choice or influence in anything that happens to them... and likely they'll keep making poor choices for themselves and continue blaming others - or circumstance - for everything that happens.

Unfortunately, the latter is a very prevelent attitude in our culture today. I see it especially in our young people.

Lack of accountability and readiness to blame others for things that 'happen' to them.

I prefer to look at things another way - why did this happen? How did I contribute to it? and What can I do differently to create a more positive outcome in the future?

But that's just my philosophy. To each his own.

[2percentmilt]

A much simpler philosophy would say something about making a bed. Oh yeah, you made your bed now lie in it.

[OceanBlue]

[Pilar]

Exactly .. all you can own is what happens in your inner space.

"You can take control of all aspects of your life ...."

Now that's funny!

How about you can take responsibility for how you deal with whatever life does with you? And how you interact with others.

Good lesson .. thanks.

Anyway .. polly anna was popular once .. maybe it will happen again.

[crabbait]

To me, the author is talking to those individuals who constantly find themselves saying "one thing lead to another...".

His point is that our lives are shaped by random events to a small degree. To a much larger degree, out lives are shaped by the way we chose to react to those random events.

In Pilar's example, did we have a small conniption fit because we dropped our keys and are running 10 minutes late? Did we arrive at the scene of the previous wreck at 60mph, swearing and chewing on our seatbelt?

Or did we accept the fact that the 10 minutes are gone and chose to not let it affect the rest of our lives. In either event, the thing that we can chose to control is our reaction to those events.

OOOhhhmmmmmmmm.........

[baltz526]

i'm really glad i disagreed. i contemplated the qoute, before i responded. my response was colored by my view, of how i push forward through life. and the qoute needed further thought for today. to just read it and see it from my point of view, was not an option i wanted to happen.i chose to disagree and used my choice to alter your lives today. my choice buffeted your path today.

[angler_andy]

I make the choice not to over think things in life. I take responsibilty for the choices that I make and try to make the best of them.

Andy.

[2percentmilt]

He who messes with my wood pile gets the axe

[judyfish99]

and it does not help to put your head in the sand...

[shelikeschrome]

Turning away from rather than facing ones problems only makes them follow you everywhere you go.

[Woody]

No matter where you go, there you are.

[elkoholic]

He who stands on toilet is high on pot!