The choice is yours

If any problem, say job insecurity, work dissatisfaction or stress, has been bothering you for a while, the first thing you should do is to be aware of your choices. You should also be prepared, if necessary, to change those choices.

Everybody makes choices. Do you realize you have just chosen to read this article? Whether you read it completely will again be a choice.

People keep making choices, often without realizing it. These choices can range from what they eat to how they perform at work to even what they think and feel.

Every choice has a consequence either in the immediate future or later. The present is the result of the choices made in the past and the future will be the result of the choices made in the present.

Change
Based on the direct relationship between choices and consequences, it is not difficult to see how someone can overcome current problems and create a brighter future by making different choices.

If, however, one sticks to the same choices over and over again, the same problems will also continue to exist.

So, to do better in any aspect of life, you need to look at your own choices and change them. It is easier said than done.

Barriers to change
Thanks to the following barriers, change is one of the most challenging endeavors in life:

Lack of self-awareness: Some choices get so ingrained in the subconscious that people are hardly aware of them, let alone changing them. For example, many people unconsciously choose to speak more and listen less.

Ignorance: The need for a change or the consequence of not changing is often not so obvious until it is too late. Though Singapore's economy is undergoing structural changes, not everyone sees the need to take a few steps up the ladder of technology and knowledge skills.

Discomfort: Change always means leaving the comfort zone, which people resist. How many people take the trouble to exercise regularly to stay healthy?

Lack of direction: Lack of proper direction often hinders one's efforts to change. Many people, though desperate for a career change, stay stuck in the same occupation due to a lack of direction.

Prisoner of habits: Old habits die hard. Quitting any type of addiction, from drinking to smoking to excessive television watching, is like coming out of a prison made up of your own habits.

Ego: Ego is a huge barrier that prevents people from changing their deep-rooted choices. Change, however, requires the humility to say good-bye to old choices.

Brighter future
Here are some action steps to embrace change by dumping old choices and making new ones:

Changing choices: Asking the following questions is a way to come face-to-face with present choices and open a window to new choices:
• What problem is bothering me?
• Do I want this problem to continue in the future?
• What choices am I making that are relevant to this problem?
• What could happen if I continue to make the same choices?
• What new choices can I make to overcome the present difficulties and create a brighter future?

External changes: Paying attention to the changes in the external environment can offer valuable clues to what you should or should not be doing.

For example, an employee can make better choices about his career just by paying close attention to the changes happening in his department, organization and the industry as a whole.

Start small: It helps to start small and enjoy small successes first before attempting to change deep-rooted choices.

For example, why not give a surprise call to an old friend, take a different route from your office to home or spend a weekend just reading something interesting?

These seemingly irrelevant but deliberate choices will give you a taste of the power of changing stereotype choices.

Watch out - you are about to make another choice of either starting a journey of change based on what you have just read or living with the status quo. It's all up to you.

Copyright © Atul Mathur, 2003
This article first appeared in The Straits Times on 15 December 2003.

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