The things that come to mind with regard to critical thinking skills might include:

• • doing some research

• • objective analysis

• • learning

• • evaluating

And with evaluating, that is, what you’ve been able to analyze – and seeing what that looks like.

The key being an objective perspective.

In this family discussion, a key for Dad involved him considering that a lot of decisions that he had made weren’t really decisions.

Some of them were on autopilot.

He used the example of location –

“This is where I was born,” he explained.

“And therefore I will just remain here [in the Midwest] and live my life.”

He neither thinks that way now, nor would he make that statement. Instead he just lives that statement because really what your behavior does is it shows where your heart is.

It shows what you’re thinking – whatever your behavior is.

When we mention exercising the power of choice, here, it’s to say that our family looked at things – individually, and as a group.

Dad went on to say that in the past he realized he was on autopilot and really wasn’t making decisions – he wasn’t exercising his power of choice.

And dear reader, we want you to think about the choices in your life.

We want you to think about the power you have.

Granted, sometimes the choice may include an option you would consider catastrophic.

Example: Multi-Level Marketing

Some of us in the family have dabbled in multi-level marketing over the years so let’s use that as an example.

Let’s say, someone was in a multi-level marketing program, and they were involved in selling things, and they might find an option that includes them conducting an effort that pushes them out of their comfort zone.

But some of their friends and colleagues have done it, and they saw great results.

What’s so interesting about that scenario (and we’ve seen it happen) is that what is occurring is there are options sometimes presented to us and they’re legitimate options, but because they take us out of our comfort zone we don’t even allow them to become an option.

Let’s repeat that last part.

Because some options take us out of our comfort zone we don’t even allow them to become an option.

Regardless of how you feel about multi-level marketing, that’s an interesting lesson that can be applied to various experiences and industries.

And what happens is, we’re not exercising our power of choice when that occurs.

We want to be able to take life for credit, to use a university example.

We’re not auditing life, distracted and unengaged with the lessons, we should actually take it for credit.

In other words, we just want to enjoy life.

This is about not being on autopilot.

These 3 Keys Are Unavoidable

There are three things in this case you and I can’t avoid, and they are:

1. 1. Problems

1. 1. Thinking

1. 1. Choice

We’re always going to face problems that cause us to think and consider the choices that we have to make – there’s no way around it.

And what can help us fully engage and pilot our lives are the critical thinking skills mentioned above.

Do you remember them?

Learn something new.

Do some research.

Do some analysis.

Be objective about your problems.

There are some things that are options which – true options – but you just might not like what they cost you in your particular case or situation.

In our family’s case traveling abroad, we did decide that we would sell things to help us move to East Africa.

We sold what we had and we moved on to bigger and better things.

That might be an option that people haven’t thought about.

You don’t have to do that, just know that some things are an option.

We sometimes devalue the options we have and assume that what’s uncomfortable isn’t an option just because it makes us uncomfortable.

So, dear reader, the question for you is – are you really considering all of your choices?

Are you really living by choice, or just on autopilot in all areas of your life?

Take employment for instance…

Lessons From IT and OrgDev

My dad tells a story where he made a career move – a drastic career move – to change from Information Technology to Organization Development.

As he tells it:

“I didn’t necessarily have a bridge to get between the two careers, and others would not consider it an option. But I left that fantastic job. I just chose to quit. In fact, my management was surprised that I chose to quit. But I had done some analysis and said, ‘I’m not living here, I’m not fully engaged in this career option’”.

When he chose a career option more aligned with his values, more aligned with who is, he found that he was actually not doing that job from 9 to 5. 

He was working continuously, in a good sense, after 5, because it was who he was as a lifestyle.

He shared this story:

“I remember when I was leaving IT and I had difficulty not staying as an engineer because it was all I had known since

high school, because I worked when I was in high school. And so, I was on a real job interview with a person who had more of a mentoring kind of mentality. And the interview segued from [engineering] to him mentoring me right there, on the spot. [He was a] nice gentleman.

I’m so grateful, because he had a key question he asked me. I don’t even remember what it was, but my answer was, ‘What’s on your coffee table’, because I said I didn’t have some of the typical magazines related to the IT world at the time on my coffee table. And he said, ‘So what do you have on your coffee table?’ And I had things about development, critical thinking skills, things like that.”

That on-the-spot mentorship pointed my dad toward what he was truly interested in, Organization Development and Team Building.

When you look at your values, dear reader, and you take time to reflect and think about what is really important to you, you might be surprised what occurs. 

You might be surprised to learn about your interests, and that positions you then to exercise the power of choice, one of the most powerful things that we have.

That’s been an incredible realization for our family and that’s why we’re sharing it with you.

Choosing is your superpower – you’ve got it.

You might as well use it.