I woke up this morning thinking about choice. More particularly, I work up reflecting on what I’ve chosen in life, including my choices about my career in claims adjusting. So I got up and spent part of my daily morning quiet time with an audiobook by Matthew Kelley called The Rhythm of Life. I’ve enjoyed listening and relistening to it for years. I always seem to find a fresh outlook or idea, or at the very least, a renewed sense of excitement. I thought I’d share some of it with y’all, in particular, a section dealing with choice:
“Everything is a choice; this is life’s greatest truth, and its hardest lesson. It’s a great truth, because it reminds us of our power. Not power over others, but the often-untapped power to be ourselves, and to live the life we have imagined. It is a hard lesson, because it causes us to realize that we have chosen the life we are living right now.
It is perhaps frightening for us to think that we have chosen to live our life exactly as it is today; frightening, because we may not like what we find when we look at our lives. But it is also liberating, because we can now begin to choose what we will find when we look at our life in the tomorrows that lie unlived before us. What will you see when you look at your life ten years from now? What will you choose?
Life is choices. You have chosen to live this day. You have chosen to [read this blog post]. You have chosen to live in a certain city. You have chosen to believe certain ideas. You have chosen the people you call friends. You choose the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the thoughts you think. You choose to be calm or restless. You choose to feel appreciative or ungrateful. Love is a choice. Anger is a choice. Fear is a choice. Courage is a choice. You choose.
Sometimes, we choose the best version of ourselves. And sometimes we choose a second-rate version of ourselves. Everything is a choice, and our choices echo throughout our lives, and into history, and on, and on, into eternity.
Most people never fully accept this truth; they spend their lives arguing for their weaknesses, complaining about their lot in life, or blaming other people for their weaknesses and their lot in life. You may argue that you are forced to live in a certain city, or drive a certain car, but it is not true. And if it is, it is true only temporarily, and because of a choice you have made in the past. We choose, and in doing so, we design our lives.
Some may say that we do not choose our circumstances; you’d be surprised. We have much more power over the circumstances of our lives than most men and women would ever admit. And even if circumstances are thrust upon us, we choose how we respond to those circumstances. Perhaps one day, we will realize that we have chosen much more than we have even imagined!
I hope that day is today. For the day we accept that we have chosen to choose our choices, is the day we cast off the shackles of victimhood, and are set free to pursue the lives we were born to live. Learn to master the moment of decision, and you will live a life uncommon.”
Yes, a hard lesson and a great truth. And nowhere is it more true than in our success in insurance adjusting. It’s a fascinating reflection; We’ve all chosen; not only our adjusting careers but also our level of success or failure in our careers.
To quote Matthew, “I hope that day is today. For the day we accept that we have chosen to choose our choices, is the day we cast off the shackles of victimhood, and are set free, to pursue the lives we were born to live. Learn to master the moment of decision, and you will live a life uncommon.”
If your career is not everything you dreamed it would be, I invite you to join me in reflecting on your choices. My study of the top 15% of adjusters has me thoroughly convinced; they simply make different choices than adjusters with less successful careers.
Readers, let today be the day!
