'We are who we choose to be.'

I did something at work yesterday which I felt in my conscience was right. I wrote an email in respond to something that happened and sent it out to the people who needed to hear it. Of course I was called in by the boss a few hours later. Of course I felt down because of it. But I could not articulate what I was upset about. Was it because the people I sent it to did not appreciate what I was trying to say (well then this wouldn’t be the first time!). or was it because I knew what I did was not wrong and I should not get a ‘slap on the wrist’ for it.

I then spent the evening feeling lost in myself, like I’ve lost the ability to make the right decisions based on the things I feel is right. At 38 going on 39 the last thing anyone wants to feel is uncertain about her/his gut feeling. And here I was feeling like I did wrong just because the people in ‘power’ didn’t appreciate my actions.

Then today, like everything in my life thus far, I stumble upon a short clip on youtube that reaffirms my belief in my own actions. It is an interview Tavis Smiley had with Will Smith (one of my favourite person alive), in which Will says, “We are who we choose to be”.

I choose to be that person who sends out that email. I choose to accept that what I did was right and for the better of others. I choose to be a person who solves issues I am faced with and not accept problems as a given and accommodate it in my life. To my boss who wanted me to accommodate the particular problem we were faced with and take it as a ‘privilege’ and not a ‘chore’, I say this: I choose otherwise.