The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study is to explore how assistant principals describe their choices regarding survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun regarding whether to seek promotion to principal in southern Arizona. A principal shortage exists in the United States in part because assistant principals qualified to be principals are often choosing to remain assistant principals. Additionally, when inadequate principal succession plans are in place, students and staff are negatively impacted. The theoretical framework was appropriate for this study was the concept of choice as it relates to assistant principals' decisions to seek a higher position within the workplace. The two research questions focused on the choices assistant principals make regarding their pursuit of principalship as operationalized in the components of Glasser's choice theory (survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun). The results of the study were based on the thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and artifacts collected from 12 current assistant principals in southern Arizona. The six themes discovered in this study that impact assistant principals' choices included: experience and experiences, district hiring practices, role, purpose, and district support, fit and team, the ability to enjoy out of work activities, and role preference. This study supports and extends the current literature related to assistant principals' pursuit of principalship in response to district practices, the principal and assistant principal working relationship, assistant principal and principal work intensification, and assistant principal role preference. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]