Personal Power e-zine, February 21, 2006

How to Gain More Personal Power by Using Your Three Choices

Did you know that regardless of the situation you are in, you always have three choices that, when exercised, will instantly give you freedom and power?

Many people are not aware of the three choices. This is unfortunate, because without the three choices, you can be snared into using your personal power unproductively. This applies to relationships of all kinds in our business and personal lives.

Sample Problem: You feel frustrated, angry, disappointed, resentful, betrayed, or hurt.

The Red Flag: When you are "hooked" by these attitudes, thoughts, and feelings, you hemorrhage power and energy that could be applied to helping you achieve your business, personal, or relationship goals! If you suppress the feelings or try to hide them (which is what most of us do), it will only be a matter of time before the power leak finds its way to the surface and you vent it on someone. Most likely it will be vented on a loved one or an unsuspecting staff member or colleague.

Try this scenario on for size

Something does not happen the way you think it should. As a result:

You feel mad, disappointed, or just plain angry.
You start to look for whom or what is to blame.
Now you're starting to get really worked up inside. You don't know what to do with your feelings, so you suppress your feelings and try to move on.
You begin seeing evidence that justifies your feelings. "See", you think to yourself, "this always happens to me!" Or, "I can never count on _____." You prove you are right about what is most likely a belief.
The end result is you feel one or all of these:

Internal pressure
Trapped
Controlled
Cornered
Tired
Frustrated

Once this scenario occurs within you, you've been caught - snared by your mind. Unless you use your three choices, your attitude and beliefs will create a wall that will prevent you from achieving your goals!

What's the Solution?

Exercising your three choices gives you a way to flip the negative to positive and end your mind's trouble-making patterns.

The three choices are:

You can accept
You can change
You can leave

To ACCEPT does not necessarily mean you agree. It simply means you stop wishing your situation is something other than it is (or that the people involved in the situation would behave differently than they are behaving). It is what it is, so accept it.end of subject!

To CHANGE means to change the way you're looking at a problem or issue. Shift your perspective, perhaps to see the issue from someone else's eyes. Once you stop making others wrong for doing what they have done, you gain freedom. Making judgments concerning what others should do creates pressure and wastes your energy.

To LEAVE does not mean to run. It means to get complete and then move on; in other words, to exit with honor. If you run, whatever you're running from will find you, only with different players. Until you "get" the lesson (which means you face it, see the truth, and get complete with it) you will replay the same scenario over and over again. You'll just do it with different people.

If you recognize and use your three choices, you will never again be cornered by your feelings and interpretations of what has happened.

Here is a true story

Recently a client of mine was faced with a lawsuit that could lead to a heavy fine. She was angry and bitter for all sorts of reasons she felt justified in feeling.

Once I saw how cornered my client was, I suggested she consider her three choices. It was tough, but she chose to implement all three of them! She accepted the situation for what it was and stopped taking it personally. She changed her perspective and stopped being a victim. She remembered what she loved about the other party in the lawsuit and recognized that individual's motives as being human. Then she decided to face the situation without anger. She would "get" the lesson and move on. She felt the anger drain out of her and she felt more personal power.

My client called two days later and reported she felt remarkably calm throughout the court proceedings. There was no anger whatsoever, which was an all-time first! The case ended up being dropped and she was pursuing communication with the other party to work things out on their own. She stopped judging the other party and the solution created itself. Now my client feels empowered and hopeful instead of bitter and powerless. What a successful shift in attitude!

If you practice using your three choices, you will get more results in your business and personal life

It feels like magic, but it really isn't - it's the power of choice. Remember to begin every day with a choice about who you will be today. Stay powerful!

Much success,

Michelle

About the Author

Personal power expert Michelle Rigg is the author of You Must Be OUT of YOUR MIND: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating More Power In Your Life. Her clients usually see remarkable improvements in income, relationships, communication, focus, and clarity after completing just one workshop or telephone laser session. For a FREE 5-step course that will supercharge your personal power, visit http://www.createpersonalpower.com.

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