Becoming Aware of Our Choices
“We are our choices.”
Here is another way to look at choices.
Imagine that we went through a hellish experience and we say no more; it’s time to make a change. We prioritize our health by stepping out of a toxic situation or relationship; whether it’s a job, financial commitment or a partnership, for example.
But then we face another choice: 1) we can either step into a similar story (unconsciously) or 2) entirely walk out to create something very different.
Choice #1
When we step into a similar story, we can’t see it in the moment. Let’s say we decided to leave a job because we’ve had enough of the grind and rat race or we had a crappy boss. But too often, what we’ve done is simply shift from being inside a broken system to offering services to those still in the system.
For example, a former executive assistant at an accounting firm leaves after 20 years and now is a personal branding expert to businesses. A former change management consultant in a law firm now offers resilience training to lawyers and accountants. A former marketing executive helps TED speakers with their image, makeup and positioning.
The system all three are in now is the same. But while being on the other side of the table may feel different but it’s still the very same table. It’s the same story we chose to leave. it certainly doesn’t do any harm to make sure our choices and actions are empowering rather than disempowering us.
Choice #2
The second choice we have is to abandon toxic systems and create healthy ones where we thrive; not suffer. There are so many doors right now that we can unlock. Maybe we never saw these paths before. Maybe we banged our head against the doors in frustration in the past. But these doors are no longer locked unless we choose to shut them.
Another world is not only possible when we choose to write healthy stories for ourselves and each other, it is our time to fling these doors wide open and explore. When we are conscious, our choices are more aligned with our soul.
The Bottom Line of Making Choices
Life gives us what we can handle, even though we sometimes don’t believe we can deal with the twists and turns along our path. How we choose to navigate lies in our hearts and is manifest through the choices we make and the energy we expend.
You have choices to make every second of the day. You can spend your life focusing on what you missed out on or regretting choices you made, or you can give yourself a break from all that unnecessary stress. You can never go back to the place where you made a certain decision, either to do something or not to do it. That moment has passed. The decision was made and is irreversible. What’s done is done. You can cause more damage by digging a deeper hole trying to reverse what was done. You really do not have any control over the past, but you can determine how you navigate forward from here in the present. Do yourself a favor and don’t live in regret.
Of course, there is no assurance that you will be in a different place, but your navigational system will become more experienced through the trial and error of taking detours and shortcuts. Just know that in due course, universal law will get you where you are meant to be.
And the third choice (unlocked door) we have, we may have not yet imagined.