Everyday, we are confronted with the question of "what's next?" What's next to get our attention? Who and how soon is the next crisis going to arise? What choice am I next going to have to make?
Where you choose to put your attention doesn't always seem to be at your discretion. Do you really have a choice to not engage with your kids when they are having a heated and hurtful argument? Do you really have a choice about dealing with an irritated client? What about when the company you work for says you have to take the training course on Business Ethics?
The answer is that you do always have a choice - that may seem obvious but it's a good thing to remember. Often, I have felt that I didn't really have a choice. But when I look at the situation, it's not really that I don't have a choice. Instead, it's more that I know if I choose a certain way, I'm not going to like the outcome. It's also true that if I feel forced into a choice, I may rebel by deciding to not fully engage with my decision. Finally, not making a decision is also a choice; one that may have unintended outcomes!
Lately, I find that if I take time to pause and ask myself--"won't life be sweeter if I do both - recognize the reasons why I am making this decision and then consciously become fully engaged with it?"--that I'm both happier about my choice and more likely to deal with it.
If you are lucky, the choices you are making are conscious ones. Then it is up to you how you choose to engage with them. If you reluctantly get up in the morning just because if you don't, the kids won't, and then you'll be late to work, and the day-to-day will start all over again, that's a choice. However, if you hop out of bed saying "I can't wait to greet my kids and get my day started" it is a whole different prospect.
Today, I'm choosing to make conscious choices for how I engage with life.
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