“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” ~ Aristotle

I saw this quote on a colleague’s email signature this week and it instantly became a favorite! It reminds me how much control we have over our lives by the choices we make.

The quote says nothing about our present situation, our upbringing, or any other excuse we use to explain why we’re not currently living the life we desire. The focus is clearly on intention and intelligent and wise action.  I don’t know about you, but that’s extremely encouraging to me!  We are the ones who get to choose what shape our lives take.  If we want to become something different from what we currently are, we simply need to choose to take actions that move us in our desired direction.

Let’s not let the world shape us because we decided not to choose for ourselves. This ability, this privilege to choose for ourselves is too great a freedom to neglect, so let’s not squander it.  Instead, let’s choose wisely.