iii.

the principle of choice means i actively decide who i want to be and what i want the world to be.

each choice i make says "this is correct. this is the way everyone should behave. this is the way the world should be."

i have a responsibility to make choices that make me a better person and the world a better world.

in making choices, i must play an active role. i must engage myself in my choices. i must not compromise my choices for the sake of external approval. i must not let circumstances or others make choices for me.

in making my choices, i must remember that i am on Earth not to fulfill anyone else and that no one is on Earth to fulfill me. if i choose to sacrifice myself for others, it must be because i have chosen to do so, not because i have been co-opted into the decision. if others are to sacrifice themselves for me, it must be because they have reached that decision of their own free will.

i have no right to make choices for others. no one has the right to make choices for me.

once i have made my choices, i must evaluate them and, if necessary, change them. my choices will ultimately be evaluated by the outcomes they bring about. i must not be afraid to recognize that i have made the wrong choice and start again.

i have an obligation to make choices. to refrain from making choices is a betrayal of self-awareness. when i betray self-awareness by remaining passive, i am watching myself drown and doing nothing about it.

death means the absence of choice. as a living being, i am entitled and have a duty to avoid death until such time as i consciously make the choice to give up all further choices by dying. to chose death is by far the most critical choice i will ever make, as it will deprive me of any further choice.

the principle of choice means to define myself by what i do and the choices i make and not to allow others or circumstances to do that for me.