My early experiences as a very young man, raised on a potato farm in Idaho where we milked cows every morning and night by hand that later provided our family milk to drink, has taught me some valuable lessons. Because we didn’t homogenize the milk and drank it raw, once it had cooled in the refrigerator, the gallon glass containers would present with the upper fifth portion with a definitive layer of thick cream that was separated from the milk below. The reason cream aggregates at the top is because it is fat and is lighter with greater density than water which is what milk mainly consists of.

The cream is chocked full of fat-soluble and critical vitamins A and D. In today’s world of diets, we achieve a small fraction daily of these vitamins that I could receive from this milk in our refrigerator. I remember going to the refrigerator and craving a glass of milk. However, if the gallon container had not been partaken of already with a glass or two by someone else the visibility of that thick cream on top would repulse me and I would decide not to partake. Therefore, with all my siblings and parents in the home, I would visit the refrigerator often in hopes that one of them would relieve the container of most of the cream. It was excruciating waiting for this to happen.

What was the compelling factor to convince me of this specific decision-making process? Even though I was craving the milk, I could easily make the decision to patiently wait and push away the reality of how good this milk would be for me if I consumed it with all that heaping cream.  My satisfaction could have been instantaneous with just minor gagging reactions. What was the big deal with this specific decision?

I blogged earlier on the fact that we make millions of decisions in life. It has been said that our lives are NOT defined by our conditions in life, rather, by the decisions we make. I would add that the decisions we don’t make or deciding not to decide, also defines our lives. I agree with this declaration and believe that our decisions modify how we deal with our living conditions. The more decisions we make, the more inclined we are to improve our ability to make good decisions with good consequences. I will be the first to admit, from personal experiences, that we will still make plenty of mistakes and sometimes feel like giving up. What has become obvious to me through my recent journey is that we can always be found making decisions that will empower us to overcome these mistakes and subsequent obstacles.

Many of you may know what a Prosthetist does.  They are the person that begins working with an amputee some weeks after amputation and begins the long journey to fit them with a prosthesis.  I discovered that being fitted with a prosthesis is a very complex process and it takes years before all the adjustments are complete.  In my case, three years have passed since we started that process and I am just beginning to feel comfortable. The prosthetist needs to pay strict attention to the patient and how they respond to miniscule adjustments.  The most important information my prosthetist shared with me in the beginning, is that he will not be successful unless, I communicate with him and share every detail that I am feeling.  It is a touchy, feely process to say the least.  My Prosthetist becomes very aware of my needs by way of:

·         communication,

·         watching my responses to fitting changes,

·         how I explain to him results,

·         how I walk,

·         how I sit,

·         my posture,

·         and most important, my attitude or persona.

  If the Prosthetist decides to not listen to what I am saying, and I decide to not communicate properly, he will miss the manner he should proceed with adjustments. This is a two-way street of communication where two people are conjointly deciding to communicate with each other to achieve a successful outcome and is tantamount to ultimate success. May we all feel empowered with the ability to execute on our decisions and achieve great success.