Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Victorious Living

Home
Family, Parenting and Religion
What Your Choices Say About You

What Your Choices Say About You

Last updated on: September 7, 2019 at 11:13 pm by Victorious Living

What Your Choices Say About You 2019-09-07T23:13:47-04:00 Victorious Living

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Our choices are one of the three things we can control. On a planet we have to share with billions of people, a gauntlet of circumstances, and an ever-changing cycle of seasons, taking ownership of just three things can seem really small. We often strive to control more. And our attempts to do so are the cause for so much hurt, chaos, and confusion in the world.

We can plant ourselves in the Victim Circle, blaming others for our lot in life. We can flirt with the boundaries of the Freedom V. But the truth is there is nothing more revealing about who we are than the choices we make. Our decisions reveal our character. They are the proving ground. Where best intentions go to die and our internal strivings are brought into external communities.

When a decision bursts forth, it says a lot about us. It says a lot about who we are, what matters to us, and what we are trying to do.

What You Value

When we make a choice, it shows what we value. Our choices are based on what matters most to us, what we hold most dear. Whether we are aware of it or not, our choices are about a vision we mean to accomplish. Sometimes we borrow this vision from our parents or popular culture. Sometimes we dig deep and take ownership and stewardship of it based on the truest sense of who we are. No matter where it comes from, whether healthy or holy, borrowed or discovered, named or unnamed, our choices reveal where we want to go (vision) and what motivates us to get there (values).

Making a choice is like showing your cards in a hand of poker. A decision, as something we can control, is a mechanism for revealing truth by acknowledging ownership. With so many choices available, we make our values known based on which of those choices we settle upon. It is no small thing.

What You Believe Is Yours

Choices reveal what we believe we have the ability to steward, affect, and influence. In short, it shows others what we believe is ours. It exposes what we think belongs to us.

We cannot escape the reality that we control our own decisions. The way we exercise that power in our own lives lets others know what we believe in is our sphere of influence. A choice is something that belongs to us. One of the few things. And the specific choices we make are boundary lines. They show where we believe we have a right to decide and where we don’t. Exercising decision-making is a way of shading in the borders of where we stop and others begin.

What You Expect

The last thing our choices say about us is what we expect. They pull the veil off our hidden agendas, hopes, and dreams. They shed light on our expectations.

Sometimes, we are so good at hiding our expectations, we conceal them even from ourselves. Our choices might help reveal our expectations, even to us!

Choices are powerful and they should be made boldly, but not lightly. They reveal who we are. And the world needs to know who we are. We need the world to know as well, so they can give us feedback and help us to make better, truer decisions in the future. This is how community builds character and how character builds community. Choices are vulnerable, they expose us to risk and rejection. But they are also the way we express who we are.

Previous Post

April 8, 2019

The Difference Between Disappointed and Violated

Next Post

April 12, 2019 When The Truth Lets You Down

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Choices Conflict Resolution Culture Change Emotions Failure Faith Fear Freedom V Growth Healthy Communication Hope Identity Influence Leadership Learn Mistakes Mood Curve Ownership Perspective Power Relationships Self-Awareness Self-Governance Systems Thinking Three Things You Control Transformational Leadership Trust Truth Uncategorized Values Vision

Select a Month January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Jeremiah's faithful secretary and scribe?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Baruch Eliakim Micah Zephaniah

Books by This Author Books by Victorious Living

See All Titles »