Life is full of choices

           Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.

      When someone would ask him how he was doing,he would reply,“ If I were any better, I'd be twins!” He was a natural motivator.

      If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, “ I don't get it.You can't be positive all the time. How do you do it?”

      Michael replied, “ Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘ Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”

      “ Yeah, right. It isn't that easy.” I protested.

      “ Yes it is,” Michael said.“ Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line is: It's your choice how you live life.” I reflected on what Michael said.

      Soon thereafter, I left the big enterprise that I had worked in for years to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

      After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “ If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

      “ The first thing that went through my mind was the well being of my soon? to? be? born daughter,” Michael replied. “ Then, as I lay on the ground, remembered I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live.” “ Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked. Michael continued, “ ...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the operation room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘ He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action.” “ What did you do?” I asked.“ Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,” said Michael.“ She asked me if I was allergic to anything.‘ Yes,'I said. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘ Gravity.'Over their laughter, I told them, ‘ I'm choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead’ .”

      Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude.I learned from him that every day we have a choice to live fully. Attitude is everything.

       迈克尔是那种你真想恨一恨的家伙，他总是乐呵呵的，总是说些积极上进的话。如果有人问他近况如何，他会这样回答：“如果我还能再好，我就成双胞胎了!”他生来就会让人积极进取。

　　如果哪位雇员有天过得很糟糕，迈克尔会告诉他如何看待问题的积极一面。他的这种方式着实让我好奇，所以有一天我找到迈克尔问：“我真弄不明白。你怎么能总是那样积极乐观?你是如何做到这一点的?”

　　迈克尔回答说，“每天早晨醒来时我对自己说，‘迈克，今天你有两种选择。你可以选择心情愉快，你也可以选择心情恶劣。’我选择心情愉快。每次什么不愉快的事情发生时，我可以选择成为一个牺牲品，也可以选择从中吸取教训。我选择从中吸取教训。每次有什么人找我来抱怨，我可以选择接受他们的抱怨，也可以选择向他指出生活的积极面。我选择指出生活的积极面。”

　　“是的，不错。可并不那么容易呀。”我表示异议。

　　“其实很容易，”迈克尔说。“生活就是选择。从每一事物剔除一切枝节后剩下的都是一种选择。你选择如何应付生活中的种种情形。你选择他人会怎样影响你的情绪。你选择是心情愉快还是心情恶劣。说到底：如何生活是你自己的选择。”我琢磨着迈克尔的这席话。

　　那以后不久，我离开了工作数年的大企业去创建自己的公司。我们失去了联系，但当我对生活作出一种选择而非对它作出反应时，我时常想起迈克尔。几年之后，我听说迈克尔遭遇一场恶性事故，从一座通讯大楼的60英尺高处掉了下来。

　 　在经历了18个小时的手术和数周的精心护理之后，迈克尔出院了，背部装有金属杆。大约事故半年之后，我见到了迈克尔。当我问他怎么样时，他回答，“如果我还能再好，我就成双胞胎了。想看看我的伤疤吗?”我拒绝看他的伤痕，但的确问了他事故发生时他是怎么想的。

　　“我首先想到的是我那即将出世的女儿的幸福生活，”迈克尔答道。“当时我躺在地上，我记起我有两种选择：我可以选择活着，也可以选择死。我选择了活。”“你难道不害怕吗?你失去知觉了吗?”我问。迈克尔接着说，“……那些护理人员棒极了。他们不停地告诉我我会好的。但当他们把我推进手术室，我看到医生和护士脸上的表情时，我真是吓坏了。在他们的眼里，我读出了‘他是个死人。’我知道我应该采取行动。”“你采取了什么行动?”我问道。“有一位人高马大的护士大声冲我问问题，”迈克尔说。“她问我是否对什么过敏。‘是的，’我说。医生和护士都停下手中的活儿等我回答。我深吸一口气大声说出，‘万有引力。’他们的笑声未了，我告诉他们，‘我选择活着。把我当活人而不是死人来做手术。’”

　　迈克尔活了下来，这要感谢他那些医生的高明医术，但也要归功于他那令人赞叹的态度。我从他那里学到了我们每天都有机会充实地活着，关键是态度。