A vital stand to take in the process of increasing personal power and enhancing individual performance is that “I always have a choice”. People choose their attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and feelings. Ultimately, everything in a person’s life is a result of the choices he or she has made. Without choice, life exists as a series of Have To’s. “I have to go to work, I have to take care of my kids, I have to pay my taxes.” Life as a series of Have To’s feels out of control, powerless, and victimized BUT it allows the individual to avoid all responsibility.

The possible consequences for actions are not always pleasant. Consequences are neither good nor bad, they are simply the results of the choices made. People may not choose to have their project cancelled, teams reassigned, budgets cut, or a negative evaluation, but people can choose how to react to these occurrences and what the next moves could or should be to produce the desired result. There is always the choice not to choose. This will result in someone else choosing, or in circumstances shifting until the field of choices narrows to the point where people experience “no choice”.