Height is decided for you. Whether you view yours as a gift, a curse, or an unremarkable trait, your DNA has already made its decision. You get no say.
But punctuality, reliability, empathy, honesty, flexibility, respect, effort, trust, curiosity, initiative, passion…
Those are choices we all get to make. Some of us may have more natural inclination in some areas. And some have had the good fortune to be exposed to positive examples who showed us what those elements look like in practice.
But these are not traits. They’re choices, and each of us gets to make them. Every day, with every project, with every interaction.
Instead of lamenting that you’re too short for the basketball team, or not a good standardized test taker, or not mathematical or artistic or musical enough, think more about the choices you still get to make and where you can best apply them.
Genes are decided for you. But the choices are all yours.