We are making choices almost every second of the day even though it doesn’t feel that way because most are unconscious – automatic pilot we might say. Part of our inbuilt efficiency is to be able to operate from a place of habitual actions based on earlier choices made in another time and space.
What if we stopped for a minute and did a spring clean on pre-existing choices – these may be small or large, life tidying or life changing. In this case we might find ourselves confronting small or larger points of resistance, or on the other hand generating a sense of relief as we tackle something that has been a source of tension or pain for some time. Living with choices that no longer serve just doesn’t make good sense.
Choice making is such an amazing privilege and yet one that we often take for granted. The choice to walk or get the bus. The choice to work from home or go into the office. The option to be an even better leader or be content with where we are. Even as we look at these examples, as basic as some are, we don’t really acknowledge that we are making a choice. So what you may say.
Making choices comes with great freedoms and great responsibility – every small choice adds up to create a life and/or an impact on others. When we make ‘good’ choices, and for that read conscious choices, we support ourselves and hopefully others around us. When we operate on automatic pilot, we are still making choices but without noticing that we have ‘skin in the game’, that is, that we are responsible for those choices whether we think about them or not.
If we want to create better lives for ourselves and others, noticing the choices we make and validating them within our current values is an important practice. It moves away from any risk of blaming others for our life experience and it also ensures that we are creating the experience of the world that matters – to us and hopefully others too.