Fred recently considered an opportunity to take on an additional work assignment. It had all the earmarks of being a positive move: It increased his visibility to his organization’s board of directors. It gave him a chance to work across multiple departments and influence a wide range of projects and initiatives within the organization. But Fred was worried. His plate was already full with a new program launch and a number of program improvement initiatives. Not only that, he was heavily involved in several community organizations and still needed to be both husband and father at home. Fred had a tough choice and he was stymied.
As he shared his thoughts over coffee with a friend, Fred realized even before he asked the question that the only person who could decide how much capacity Fred had to take on more work, no matter how great the potential reward, was Fred. Fred realized that whatever he gained from life was largely a matter of his own choice. And because no two people are exactly alike, no one else could make a completely satisfactory choice except Fred.
In the end, he realized that taking on one more responsibility would be a disservice to himself and to others. By spreading himself even thinner, he would be placing himself in a bind that could only lead to unacceptable consequences. He chose to pass on the opportunity. In fact, he chose to drop one other responsibility as well in order to bring more balance to his life. Choice determines consequences. In this case Fred used his freedom of choice to refocus his life on things that were more important to him.