Sunday, January 29, 2012

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose....

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose... is what a leader in the Landmark Education seminar said to me...this idea...radical and profound...play with me here a bit...I invite you to open your eyes and your heart....




Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...she says
I say Chocolate...she says why? Because I like Chocolate.

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...she says again
I say Chocolate...she says why? Because I like Chocolate (did you not hear me the first time...lol). She says those are reasons.

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...but this time she is only holding Chocolate...I say Chocolate...she says why? Because its the only one...(where is this going) She says reasons....again.  Are you trackin' with me here?

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...she says again
hmmmmm.....I say.... Chocolate...she says why? Because I want Chocolate...she says...OK now we are getting somewhere...

Chocolate or Vanilla? Choose...
I say Chocolate...she says why? Because I CHOOSE Chocolate...BAM!!  There it is!!

Here is the  BIG IDEA.  We as humans...are taught to make well informed decisions yes?...think about it...you go for your first job interview and at that time you actually had a couple to pick from...so you get out your pen and piece of paper and write down all the pros on one side of the paper and all the cons down the other side of the paper on of each job offer and you MAKE A DECISION based on all your REASONS why you should take that job, right? ...big difference from choice...but we will get back to that in a moment.




So you start your job...the one you decided on because you like the people, they seemed friendly, the work schedule seemed flexible and the pay seemed competitive.  Three months into this gig...you realize these people are not who they seemed, you're working 60 hours a week and at this point it doesn't matter how much you make...you are less than enthusiastic about your DECISION!!  How many of you can relate?


Here is the big idea...CHOOSE YOUR JOB.  Like take it...own it.


New example...2-2 1/2 years ago we just got the Nintendo Wii...and our Wii came with this balance board.  So we get all excited and set up our Miis...I am sure you know what I am talking about here... you pick out a shirt, hair, gender...tell it your height and then go step on this balance board to weigh in...and based on your specifications the game creates this image of you in seconds and declares your current state of health...I will never forget that day...I step on this thing and before my eyes was this 4 inches tall by 4 inches WIDE mini (or should I say not so mini) me right before my eyes...and this thing deems me OBESE!!  I gasped...






I was like wow...I didn't really realize that...like I never considered myself with that label...but right there before my eyes in full blown HD TV...OBESE

In that moment I CHOSE OBESE.  I am sure you are like you what?!! Think about it...I did not sit down with a piece of paper and jot down the pros and cons of obesity...and said yeah...I'll take that...HELL NO!!!  But the sum of my CHOICES got me there.

So here is the beauty in this chocolate or vanilla choose thing...in THAT moment that obese was blasting across my tv...I CHOSE OBESE...(chocolate, right??).what begins to open up...in that EXACT moment I can CHOOSE HEALTH (vanilla, cool huh??)..WHY? because I can!!! But if you don't OWN it...like take responsibility for it...CLAIM IT you will NEVER do anything about it...you will never do anything that is not consistent with your thinking.

This is YOUR LIFE folks...you get to CHOOSE how its going to go...Get it? Choose it...





So let's take it up a notch...this leader asking me to choose chocolate or vanilla shares with us...SHE CHOOSES CANCER.  I was like what??!! Why would you do that?  


Here is the big idea...they just found out her husband has leukemia...this is marathon runner, athlete, powerhouse, got it....and she is choosing cancer??!!  


Help me out here...so they didn't have a choice in this matter right? Like it...cancer...got handed to them....this is so profound...when they CHOOSE cancer...the power resides in their hands....they get to say how its going to go...they NOW TAKE CANCER ON!  Like kick the stinking pants off cancer and get back to normal now, yes??!!


What's the alternative...well they flap around in the wind of uncertainty...they get sucked into the world of I don't know how its going to go...they get depressed, helpless, and hopeless, yes?...and they pull everyone around them into that world...can you see that?  Choose it!!


Final example...This concept is so simple yet so profound...so we had my daughter's friend over this weekend...but right before I got to her house to pick her up...another friend of hers told her dad she wanted to play.  Well my daughter's friend's dad didn't know we had already made plans to come get her that morning.  So if you can imagine...dad walks in the door saying hey your friend down the street wants to play with you but low and behold we pull in the driveway about the same time, give the horn a honk and her parents send  her out. 



So my daughter's little friend gets in the car and I can tell she's like crabby...this is a little person...5 years old...they really don't know what crabby is yet but I could tell she was confronted.  So she informs us I have to get home early so I can go to so and so's house...and I said really? Do you just want to stay here and play with her...and she says no...I want to go with you guys. 


Well once we get home the mood really doesn't change...and trust me this behavior really wasn't normal....so I say to this little person....honey do you want to be HERE (chocolate) or go home and play with your other friend (vanilla)..it is totally cool with us what you want to do, right? We love you and want you here but if your mind is somewhere else...we can take you there...right??!!  She is like no...I choose here (chocolate)...I say cool..then that means you play joyfully, with love and friendship from now on...like choose HERE and really your actions all stem from that choice....AND SHE DID!! 


Now the rest of the day these girls had a blast!! But this little person was torn...where she was and where she thought she might like to be...but when she CHOSE...a whole new realm of joy and fun and playfulness rose to the surface!! It was amazingly powerful awesome great afternoon for these best little friends!!!


How many times have you been torn between where you were and where you wanted to be or thought you wanted to be?  How was your behavior? What was the impact you left others with?  Would you like the outcome to be different next time? Now you can...CHOOSE!!


So others in class began to share...
I choose my credit score
I choose my boss
I choose being single
I choose my marriage
I choose a child with Asperger's


Truly profound!


What area of your life is important to you?  Take a look...CHOSE IT & change your predictable future to one of extraordinary results!!!!

Join my sexy readers club and LIKE MEon Facebook or TWEET ME on Twitter so you are continually plugged into a community committed to GREATNESS!! 

If this moved you to action today...SHARE BELOW...your story may inspire someone else and change their life!!

Join the movement...Donate today to Living Water International, because THIS community right here...that you are a part of... is out to make a measurable difference in 2012!!

B the Light!

10 comments:

  1. So if I say I choose to care what people think about me a whole new realm of possibility opens up?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Only if you OWN IT. If you do that? Heck yeah a new realm opens up. Absolutely.

      Delete
    2. So you currently struggle with the idea people think about you in one way or another? You are really caring to choose the people... choose your people as they are & as they are not. That’s the powerful choice

      Delete
  2. I did Landmark years ago, and was trying to remember how this Vanilla-Chocolate thing went. Your piece was a great refresher. Thanks!
    As I get it - slightly different wrinkle - it's about acceptance, but an empowered acceptance: being fully HERE, and accepting WHAT IS, as a place from which to generate possibility! A powerful lesson, alright!

    ReplyDelete
  3. thank you for the refresher. I did landmark years ago as well; genius. thank you for your blog

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very well written. Thanks for helping me get this distinction "Choice"

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you so much for recreating the distinction!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for the post. I could not remember the details.

    ReplyDelete