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Picture this, you are a season marketing and sales professional. You are loyal to the company you work for and serve customers well. You have always been a self-starter who love working autonomously. Then you get a new boss who requires you to check-in at the beginning and end of each day as well as submit a daily sales plan. It’s stifling.

Imagine you are a new employee hired to work for an online call center. The company’s mission and goals statements look great. After joining the company, you learn that it looks and feels a lot different than the printed words. The training program is non-existent. Your supervisor sends mixed messages and always keeps you guessing in terms of what’s expected.

The pandemic has taken a toll on many of us. Things looked good in January and February of 2020. In March the bottom dropped out for low-to-moderate wage earners and entrepreneurs when the country shut down.

Circumstances changed swiftly and dramatically in each of the scenarios above. You have probably heard that you cannot control circumstances, but what about your choices? Would it be possible to change your circumstances by the choices you make?

In the first scenario, the person had health care, a retirement plan and three weeks’ vacation; a secure situation. That person could choose to adjust to the new conditions, try to change them or change jobs. With all the risks associated with it, she chose to be an entrepreneur and work for herself.

The best advice I can give for the second scenario comes from the lyrics of an old country song: “You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run.” In other words, find another opportunity that is in line with your values and goals.

When it comes to the third scenario, the word I keep hearing is pivot. Business owners bought inventory, conference organizers planned events, restaurants had to drastically curtail service; the list goes on. People who had never heard of Zoom and other online communication tools mastered them at warp speed. They had a choice go under or pivot. Some were able to take advantage of government programs like the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP). In some cases, people had to change careers or defer plans into the future. For some the circumstances were too great to overcome in the moment, but as the effects of the pandemic continue to wane, more opportunities and choices will be revealed. These people can evaluate the up and down sides of each option then choose what is best. Change your thoughts, change your destiny!