Choice

We spend each day constantly making choices. What way should I go to work? What should I bring for lunch? Should I have a coffee this morning? What should I wear? How should I handle this situation? Should I write a blog post this morning? These types of questions continue throughout the day and we are so used to it, often we won't hear the question or know we are making a choice. It has become automatic.

These simple choices are easy (usually) but when it comes to choices about how we live our life or where we want our life to go, we often fall very short and let fear or laziness stop us. We all know we should exercise more, but how many of us actually make the choice to do it? We all know we shouldn't smoke or drink as much as we do, but how many of us actually make the choice not to? We all know we need to eat a healthier diet, but how many of us actually pass on seconds or desert because of this knowledge?

We have the ability to make choices that will change our lives. Yes, we don't know what the future will bring, but we can have some control over what is happening now. We can choose to not eat something so we can get in better shape. We can choose to get up off the couch, turn off the television and go for a jog. We can choose to stop drinking or smoking or doing anything that is causing us more harm than good. Are any of these easy choices? No, not at first. But, the more you choose to do them, the easier they become. Once you start to see some results based on your choices, you will start to be more motivated to continue to make good choices.

In the same way, you can choose to live a life you want. You can choose to find happiness in your job, even if you do a lot of things you don't enjoy doing. You can choose to start looking for a new job, if you want to leave the one your are in. You can choose to learn new skills to help with this job search. You can choose to do something completely different, if you want. You can choose to start a side project or follow a dream you have always had. You can choose to take a risk. You can choose to move far away. You can choose to start a business. You can choose to go back to school. You can choose to do or try anything you want.

Every day, we are confronted with choice after choice. Many of these decisions have become second nature to us. We need to slow down and think about some of the choices we are making. Some of these choices are too important to make on autopilot. Being present in the moment and consciously making a decision may be the best choice you make today. When we consider our options, we may make a completely different decision than we would have without thinking. It's your life, shouldn't you be making the choices you really want?