I just learned that you being alive is an absolute fluke. The probability of your being born was about one in 400 Trillion. For this to occur, your parents had to meet and start talking. The fact that two human beings bumped into each other on a planet home to around 8 billion people and struck up a conversation is remarkable. Or maybe they didn’t talk much — who knows. But the probability of the right sperm meeting the right egg is one in 400 quadrillions. And yet it happened because you are alive.
What a time to be alive! You might argue this point because the world is imperfect, and we are fighting over politics and vaccines and global warming, and many other things, but even so, we are fortunate. We get to choose our elected officials through a democratic process (a luxury not afforded in other countries). We move freely in our corner of the world, and we have a superpower at our disposal that is literally the key to unlocking our hardships: CHOICE.
We have the power of free will, but we don’t all use it. Let’s say those parents we talked about earlier that met by happenstance to make you aren’t all that great. You have the choice to say “thank you” for giving me life and then choose to live differently. Perhaps you were dealt a bad hand at birth. Indeed, you didn’t get to choose your parents, your socio-economic status, or your overall lot in life. But you aren’t shackled to those circumstances because of the precious gift of choice.
If you’re stuck in a job or a relationship that doesn’t serve you, do me a favor and look down at your hands and feet. Are they shackled? If they are, you should call 9-1-1 (we are here to help). I’m guessing that’s not the case, yet you remain a prisoner of your own choices. Do you need to lose weight, stop drinking, get that degree, or stop doing the things that do not serve you? If you’re stuck, you choose to be because those shackles are imaginary and in your own head.
Humans love the symbolism of new beginnings, and that’s why we set goals and resolutions at the beginning of the new year. If you need a new calendar year to help you make the changes you want in your life, by all means, take advantage. But understand that falling short of your goals and taking steps backward are going to occur. Don’t use that as an excuse to stay shackled. Hit the reset button every damn day if you have to and start again.
Transformation doesn’t happen overnight or at the turn of the new year. It happens through deliberate choices that you make in your life every single day. Taking baby steps and making small changes lead to transformation.
You are alive. What a gift. Do something with your wild and precious life.