Going to a restaurant, isn’t it great? We browse through a menu of all the delights on offer and then get to pick what we want, what suits our tastes and our needs, what’s right for us right now (plus we don’t have to do the washing up!).Imagine though, going out to eat and faced with only one option. That’s it. That’s what you’re getting… whether you like it or not. And by the way, that’s the only restaurant. In fact, as far as you know it’s the only food around. It’s that or nothing… indefinitely.Kind of takes the pleasure out of it.Options matter!One of the great things a coach can do for their clients is to help them recognise their options. As part of the process of working on their goals, clients look at all the things they COULD do towards achieving them. They are not, at this stage, committing to any of them, they are simply listing the possibilities, creating that extensive menu to choose from.When we know what’s available, we can make a truly informed decision.If there’s a goal you’re set on achieving, a situation you are trying to fathom or a decision you are trying to make, ask yourself:What could I do?What else could I do?If money weren’t an issue what could I do?If a friend came to me with the same situation, what would I tell them to do?If there were no consequences from it, what could I do?What would my mother/father/teacher/friend/boss tell me to do?What else could I do?When you have this long list (and keep going until it is really exhaustive) then look through it and decide what you actually will do, based on what is best for you and the circumstances.Clients often tell me, after listing one or two, that they’ve run out of ideas but it’s amazing, if we look, there are always more options than we think. Sometimes it’s the last ones we come up with that end up being used. Some might seem unrealistic or far-fetched, but they can spark another idea that will work and provide the right solution. And when I say right, I mean right for the individual. Coaching isn’t about giving advice, it works on the assumption that people are the expert in their own life and will be able to choose what best suits them and their situation.Why is choice so important?Choice = freedomNote: our society’s worst punishment is prison. Prison is perceived as so awful is because it removes a person’s choices of where and how they live, who they spend time with, what they wear, etc. Their freedom is taken.Considering a more serious scenario than our limited menu example, when a person perceives they have no choice in any area of their life (in a situation, a circumstance or relationship etc), it can feel debilitating. Negative feelings can arise trapped, defeated, stifled, dependant, powerless, hopeless etc which can in turn lead to low mood and ultimately depression.But the good news is, there is always a choice even if we have trouble seeing it.Even in the direst situations when events occur that we truly have no control over, there still remains a choice if only how we decide to respond. Victor Frankl, who was subjected to atrocities whilst imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War, wrote in his book, ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’: “The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance.”In fact the only thing we really can control in life is our choices and consciously making them restores our sense of self-determination and personal power.Every action we take, and even our thoughts, is the result of a decision, a choice we have made: what we choose to eat, if we hit the snooze button again, how we feel about our job, who we marry, the way we view the world, everything… even ‘doing nothing’ is a decision. Where we are presently in our lives is the result of every decision we have made up until now. Deciding differently at any point will change the future result.However, for many, decisions are made on autopilot, out of habit, or because ‘that’s the way it’s always been done’, or what society expects or because we’re under the illusion that we don’t have a choice in the matter.Again, there is always a choice. Often if we look (like doing the exercise above) we can find a whole list of options to choose from. Having choice empowers us and the decisions that we make today will create our future.Put yourself back in the driver’s seat of your own life by recognising your ability to consciously choose at every point, expanding your list of options and making decisions as to the right path forward for you at any time.Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If something is not working out for you, not serving your best interests, or is not the way you would like it, do something different… The choice is yours and bon appetit!Julia Pitt is a trained success coach and certified NLP practitioner.For further information telephone 705-7488 or visit www.juliapittcoaching.com.