How making better choices can change the world

Starting with a singular perspective, the choices we make, personal or otherwise, will impact on the kind of action we will take. Hence, this leads to the type of results we will get. And ultimately, its the results that determine our lives. Following from this singular perspective, when we elevate to a 2-person situation, this gets a little more interesting.

Let's use an example.

Say, John is a really good-tempered guy. However, what he encountered one day really shook him up and rubbed him the wrong way. He gets really upset and this time instead of keeping his cool, he chose to let it all out. If John is a hermit who lives up in the mountain, his choice to outwardly expression of his reaction might only disturb the silence and tranquility enjoyed by the animals there. However, if John lives in the city, and he is with someone who doesn't know him very well who happened to go out with him.

This instance is going to create an impact on John's friend that she might say, "Wow, what a temper!" Worse, John might even choice to take it out on the friend (as I mentioned, this time he really lost it). Assume his friend is someone who is easily affected by others emotionally, and she choice to get really disappointed, not just with John but also choice to lose interest in what she does for the rest of the day (as her mind is now preoccupied with John lashing out at her in public and having people turn and stare). Because of the choice that John make at the initial stage, it can cause a chain of events with his friend choosing to feel disappointed, hence choosing to ignore the people around her, which in turn upset them and on and on.

I suppose you already know by know that when we view the choices we make from a systems perspective, it began to dawn on us how our choices can really impact either positively or otherwise on the people, situation, and climate around us. Increasingly as individuals living in the city and facing a rising level of pressure, either from work or at home, this can result in individuals choosing to behave in the manner that John did. And the consequence of that really has an impact on not just the people around you but also the community.

So, therefore, making better choices can indeed change the world.

Challenge for you: Watch your choices!

Take the following steps:

Step 1: What is that 1 choices that you made today, you can consider it as "good"?

Step 2: How did this choice impact on yourself and also the people around you?

Step 3: In the future, how can you use this choice to respond to a possible challenging situation?

Love and respect,
Melvyn Tan