Every New Year brings challenges and choices. Straight Talk brings some of its own.

The biggest challenge is often whether you will speak up at all. When you do, you can change your life. You will face reality, deal with the baggage and move on. If you decide not to speak up you may be choosing to accept the role of victim with its accompanying disrespect and abuse. 

You can choose to plan what you say before you speak and have conversations that are rational and constructive: or you can let your emotions take over and accept the consequences. When emotions take over, you may come across as more blaming and accusing than you mean to be and the consequences may be more than you bargained for.

You can choose to ask questions and listen, so that you consider the views of others, or you can go with the certainty that you always know what is right and wrong and that you have got all the facts you need. On your own you might make faster decisions, but with others on board you could make better decisions.

You can choose to disclose your own feelings and acknowledge the feelings of others. If you do, you will have conversations about real issues and develop more authentic relationships. If you don’t, you’re choosing a life of superficialities.

You can choose to gain the commitment of others to joint plans and schemes or use power to get your own way. Power can enforce compliance, but not enthusiasm, energy or creativity.

It’s all about choices. Be sure you make good ones this year.

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