“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.”
John C. Maxwell
As a follow up to my last blog post regarding balance, I bring up choices. Choices are those decisions about things that can bring balance into your life. A question: How often does balance factor into your choices? Likely, not too often. When we choose what we choose it is likely highly influenced by what we want regarding that choice. For instance, if you’re a car nut, you might buy a Mercedes over a Volkswagen even though you live in a third floor flat in a crappy neighborhood. That might be ‘balance’ for you, but it’s not a balanced lifestyle. But it is your choice.
Let us play a 'what-if' game. Would you rather have a below average IQ and be rich, or an above average IQ and be poor? Which choice would give more balance in your life? Lets forget at the moment that if you already have a low IQ that you would choose to be rich. No one is that stupid!
Let's set a scene.
You haven't been blessed intellectually, but on a billion to one shot you may have won the lottery! Or a rich relative, knowing you didn’t have much going for you, left you a fortune in a will (not something I would have done).
So the first thing you decide to do after coming into money is to take a vacation to the Philippines, ignoring all the State Department warnings of terrorism. Or maybe you crave the best cheesesteak sandwiches in the world and thought you booked a flight to Philadelphia? Regardless, the fact that you are stupid is why you are in an ugly situation because you have been flashing money while looking for a cheesesteak joint in Manila and have been kidnapped by the terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf. But hey, we’re past that now.
You need mucho greenbacks to be released and, fortunately, you have the money to do it! Besides, Abu Sayyaf quickly realizes money is the only thing you have to offer. Being rich is now better than being smart, and you are released having electronically transferred your entire fortune to the terrorists. The only problem is now that you are free, you are both stupid and not-rich while wandering homeless in the streets of Manila - hoping someone will donate a cheesesteak sandwich to fend off starvation.
In this what-if game, I would choose to be 'poor but smart' over 'rich but stupid'. If you are poor but have intelligence, you can escape being poor with good choices. Rich people who make bad choices won't keep their money very long.
On the other hand, not everyone is smart in practical ways. I have a couple of distant relatives with very high IQs who wallow in self-destructive habits. Bad choices occur even if you are smart like these relatives of mine who devour science fiction books and score high playing video games. They revel and do well in the activities they enjoy. They also have very little money even with the intellectual talent to earn well. They would never confuse Philadelphia with the Philippines, but they may confuse being smart as having emotional intelligence, which would be wrong.
Seriously
We all make good and bad choices. My example of the stupid guy kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf may have been a bad one. Bad choices are not always apparent in advance. Sometimes, they are miscalculations with good intent. However, choices for the most important things in life should be clear - like the following.
When it is vital for balance in your life;
- Choose family over work
- Choose memories over things
- Choose love over luxury
- Choose independence over dependence
- Choose travel over counting your money
- Choose friends over contacts
- Choose action over empathy
- Choose strength over fear
- Choose balance over extravagance
- Choose investment over gambling
- Choose Philadelphia over the Philippines until Abu Sayyaf is defeated.
Choose well, choose with factual information, choose long term goals over instant gratification. Choose a city for action and country for relaxation. Choose coffee in the morning and wine in the evening. But you don't have to - because you make your choices and your choices make you. Something you should definitely teach your children!
Now, I choose to end this blog and have some coffee and small talk with my wife this morning!
