The Challenge of Choice

Think of all the things you do on a daily basis.

The food you eat

The words you say

The clothes you wear

The way you drive to work, or walk, or bike

The time you get up and go to sleep

The way you style your hair

Obviously the list is endless. Now think of all of the things above as choices that you’ve made. In actuality that is what they are - Choices. You aren’t always making those choices consciously but you are or you have made those choices and all of those choices you make each day are contributing to a specific result. Eat the donut instead of the apple on a regular basis and what is going to happen to your body? Say words from a place of selfish frustration instead of a place of loving care and what will happen to your relationships?

This blog I am writing is a result of a choice that I made earlier in the day. I am currently working on a certification to increase my education. It is a self paced, online, learning system which leaves all of the motivation up to me. Today I made choices that took me further away from the goal that I had intended when the day began. My intentions were to study for a large portion of the day but I had not actually scheduled that time into my calendar in order to make it an inevitability. Instead I simply told myself that studying needed to be a priority and that I would get it done throughout the course of the day.

It didn’t go so well! Guess how long I studied for? I’m sure you’re thinking that I didn’t study at all but I did! A whole 25 minutes, haha. I made a choice that did not empower me to work towards my goals and aspirations. I let my mission to gain expertise so I can better contribute to the lives of the people around me slip to the wayside. My broader mission gave way to the mission of self; to the mission of comfort. I’m disappointed that I took the easy way out today.

What happened as a result? I’m awake at 1am because I took a two hour nap in the middle of the afternoon and now I can’t sleep. I’m frustrated with myself knowing that I let my mission for my life take a back seat to unproductive comforts like video games and Netflix. As a result my mind is laser focused on my mission and what I need to do to be better equipped to succeed in pursuing that mission tomorrow and each day after that.

The beautiful thing about today is that it was mostly unsuccessful in terms of working towards fulfilling my mission but it did serve a wonderful purpose. The purpose of today was to reignite the fire in my heart to make this life I have been given meaningful. Today was a reminder that I need to be aware of my thoughts and aim to make the best choices. Make the choices that align with my life’s mission so that when my head hits the pillow at night I am satisfied knowing that I put forth a strong effort to make the day count. Today also served as a reminder to plan well and remind yourself of that plan often. If I had implemented a stronger plan for today and been more rooted in my mission I wouldn’t have strayed from my mission so easily because it would have been at the forefront of my mind. My physical and mental emotions would not have had such a strong impact on how my day transpired and I could have hit the pillow tonight with a clear mind instead of one full of questions about today’s missteps.

Am I disappointed in today? Yes, I am fairly disappointed, but ultimately I am thankful because today brought forth a great reminder that was obviously needed.

What was your day like today? Did you accomplish the things you set out to do or were you like and and allowed yourself to drift with your mental and physical states throughout the day and did you ultimately just take the path of least resistance?

Whatever kind of day you had I hope you took some time at the end of the day to reflect and learn for yourself and ask yourself important questions like:

Was today life giving or life taking? Or perhaps it was just numbing.

Did I accomplish all I had set out to? If not, why?

Am I proud of my attitude today? Where did I falter?

Did I do things today that helped me fulfill my life’s mission?

These are just a few questions that you could ask yourself at the end of each day to challenge yourself to make each day count.

Thanks for stopping by the blog. I hope it has been encouraging for you.