I have an important question for you: Are too many selections robbing you of your power to truly CHOOSE?
Here’s what I mean by that…
In this world, we have a kajillion things to choose from. But when you stop and think about it, are you really choosing for yourself, or do you actually just have a lot of selections about a few choices?
For example: have you ever decided to just sit and watch TV, but literally spend two hours on Netflix watching previews because you can’t pick one thing from the myriad of selections? Even worse, it’s not just Netflix anymore, so you’ll need to choose the streaming service first (Prime Video or Apple+ or Hulu…oh my!), THEN the movie or series to watch! This is how we get sucked in the power of selection.
But the focus on selection is pulling us out of our right to choose.
Before diving into the binge, ask yourself, “Am I even taking a step back to think about if this is really how I want to spend my time? Should I be choosing this time to watch TV?” Because a lot of the selections we make aren’t really choices – they are options for distracting ourselves and not becoming co-creators in our lives.
When you think about the things that you’re selecting from, I want you to first stop and think, “Is this a choice that I’m making, or am I just sucked into a selection (read, distraction) and I haven’t really chosen anything?” That question requires us to take a moment, step back and connect within to what is it that you really need and desire.
From that space, we can start making powerful choices.
Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash
Make the Choice First
Have you actually stepped back and chosen what’s most important for you - how you spend my time, how you spend your money, what you’re doing for your body, how you are actively planning for your truest goals?
For example, let’s say you have a goal to travel but you think to yourself, “Oh, I really want to go on these grand vacations or expeditions, but I don’t have the budget.”
Let’s explore that…do you not have the budget because of all the other “selections” that continue to suck up your money? The eating out when you could cook at home? The streaming services that cost hundreds per month? The frequent nights out? The gym membership you never use? Have all those “selections” robbed you of the bigger choice of how you truly desire to spend our money?
Let’s say you want to change your body through fitness, but don’t think you have the time to commit to a workout regimen. Do you go out at night or stay up late watching TV? Did that rob you of the sleep you need to wake up a little earlier and head to the gym? How about the drink (or few) you had last night? Did that rob you of the energy and focus you need for this morning’s run?
You see how that starts to play out…we get sucked in on all these little selections, but we’re not taking a step back to make bigger, smarter choices with our lives. The truth of the matter is, you actually have to make the choice first, and let the choice dictate the selections you make.
Don’t Let Routine Rob You of Choice
We often get stuck in the habit and ritual of what we usually do instead of seeing if the routine fits with our greatest vision!
For example, when you meet up with friends, do you tend to always do the same thing? Ask yourself, does that sameness serve your higher choices? In my case, it was my body that chose for me! There came a time that my body no longer liked alcohol and didn’t want me to drink anymore. That was a big choice I made for myself, and I realized that choice started shifting all the other selections. Meeting up with friends at a bar wasn’t quite as exiting anymore, so hanging out with friends changed from, “Hey, let’s meet up and go for a drink” to “Hey, let’s meet up at this park and go for a walk” or “Hey, let’s go to this festival.”
I began taking back my power of choice!
Macro-Choices or Micro-Selections?
As you’re navigating life, I want you to think, “Am I really making choices and choosing my deeper desires, or am I just sucked in and reacting to selection overload?”
It’s very easy to feel you are empowered person, because we’re thrown all sorts of selections of what to do, what to buy, what to watch, where to go…but they’re actually just a few small choices. There is actually a huge world of opportunity for you to choose from, but it requires stepping back from the fog of all the things society has thrown at us – commercials, social media, marketing – and focusing on the big choice, not the small distraction.
So, my invitation to you is to take a step back, get clear on what you want to choose from your life and how that trickles down and impacts the selection you’re making. Inevitably, you will start making more empowered selections! That is how you take back your health, take back your finances, take back your career, and take back the power of choice that you have for yourself in being able to create everything that you want. Everything is possible for and accessible to you…when you make the choice first.
Now every time you hear someone say, “Make good choices!” you think to yourself, “Am I making the bigger choice, or am I making the micro-selection?”
Sending big love!