Good, Bad, and Destructive Choices Made in Public Service

Every day, we have many choices, but the basic daily choice, is to do something or doing nothing. The power of choice and making decisions is within each one of us… You choose.

“Using the power of decision gives you the capacity to get past any excuse to change any and every part of your life in an instant.” ~ Tony Robbins

Public Safety Choices

Some of choices are easy, and others can be hard. Some choices could determine your personal safety, or the safety of others. Other choices you make determine whether it may have a positive impact on your career, or career-ending.

No matter the choice you make… OWN IT.

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” ~Wayne Dyer

Whether you are in police, fire, corrections, or EMS, you chose the profession. Your career can either be rewardingly positive or defyingly negative depending on the choices you make along the way.

Only you can answer the question… Can you make the best choices and decisions for career resiliency in the public safety profession?

At RITE Academy training we teach you how to make those better choices with our RITE Formula – EI+SI=RI.  As part of this RITE training, here are some RITE TIPS to help you go into the 2022 Year.

5 Tips for Better Life and Career Choices

Tip #1 – Recognizing Negative Outside Factors 

Have you allowed outside factors to cloud your decision-making over the span of your career. These outside factors influence the choices we make good or bad.

Examples of Outside Influences

• • 1. Listening to Toxic Co-workers
    2. Bad Relationships or Family Drama
    3. Choosing Negative Environments or Surroundings
    4. Self-Sabotage with Addictive and Destructive Influences

No matter what the outside factors are, the sooner you are AWARE that outside factors may be influencing you, the more you can stop it, and move forward with better choices for YOU.

“Look for your choices, pick the best one, then go with it.” ~ Coach Pat Riley

Tip #2 – Listen to Your Inner Coach

We all talk to ourselves, some of us even out loud. What do you say when you talk to yourself? Do you beat yourself up, and say, “I’m such an idiot?” Start to notice…

Examples – How to Coach Yourself

• • 1. Are you saying to yourself… I’m an idiot or I’m so stupid! 
    2. Are you complaining from the start of the day to the end?
    3. Are you still talking about people in your past?
    4. Are you blaming others for things that have happened in your life?

We all have that inner coach inside of us, who is constantly giving us advice. Maybe it is just a gut feeling or that inner voice talking to you. It is important to be in the present moment and listen to what that inner coach is telling you.

If you’re not happy with things like where you live, with the people you surround yourself with, or anything else… Stop, Listen to your inner voice, Start something new. You have one life to live, so make it great!

“If the people around you make you unhappy, it’s not their fault. It’s your fault. They’re in your professional or personal life because you drew them to you–and you let them remain. ~Steve Jobs

Tip #3:  Increase Emotional Intelligence Awareness

Examples – Know what you are ‘Feeling’

• • 1. Are your aware of your emotions?
    2. Do you make decisions when you are angry or mad?
    3. Do you check in with your emotions throughout the day?
    4. How long to you allow yourself to stay mad or angry, (i.e., Hours, Days, Weeks)?

When you know what you are feeling in the moment, you can then process that emotion, and quickly get in a better space of mind. Raising yourself to a positive emotion like ‘confidence’ enables you to make a better choice or decision. Don’t let a negative emotion like ‘anger’ cause you to make a career ending decision. (Block-Out Syndrome).

Often people ask how I manage to be happy despite having no arms and no legs. The quick answer is that I have a choice. I can be angry about not having limbs, or I can be thankful that I have a purpose. I chose gratitude.” ~Nick Vujicic

Tip #4:  Use Behavioral Self-Control

Examples

• • 1. Take a Breath
    2. Take 2-7 seconds to think about it – Space of Mind
    3. Response-Ability – You have the ‘ability to respond’ – Positively or negatively?

When you control your emotions, you can control any situation in public service. Your emotions can be the deciding factor on whether a situation in public service escalates or de-escalates.

Tip #5:  Improve Your Mental Well-Being

 Examples

• • 1. Don’t Mental Loop over Past Events
    2. New Day Thought Process – Keep moving forward
    3. Seek Professional Help if suffering from Career Cumulative Trauma and PTSD
    4. Mistakes are Mistakes – Move Forward and Learn from them.

Working on your mental health is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of true strength. Your mental well-being is the key to a successful career in public service. Take time this year to help strengthen you mental well-being.

The most difficult thing is the decision to act. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” – Amelia Earhart

Watch 5 powerful quotes from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Darkness can not drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” ~MLK

About RITE

RITE Training helps ALL public service agencies improve communication, avoid the Block-out Syndrome, to De-escalate situations, build Career resiliency, Leadership skills, and Departmental recruiting.  Contact us about RITE TRAINING at your agency.