In the movie, “Freaky Friday”, the psychologist mother drops her daughter off at school and ends her good-bye with the words, “make good choices.” The adolescent daughter rolls her eyes. What else can she do? She thinks her mom’s an idiot. The other thing is, “how do you make good choices?” We don’t have a crystal ball, and we don’t know how things are going to work out. And yet, “making good choices” seems like a smart thing to do.
Our choices decide the life that we will lead. Certainly, circumstances like illness, poverty or lack of education will impact some. But for the majority of us, the choices we make will have lasting impact upon our lives and perhaps on the lives of our family and friends.
We choose our careers, our partners, and even the way we want to feel. We make choices every day, some big and some not so big. Many will impact us for a short amount of time and others for a lifetime. We are in charge of our lives. Though some want to blame others or circumstances on the choices that they make, the unfortunate truth is that the “buck stops here.” We are responsible for what we choose and the consequences that come with it.
We choose to remain in negativity and blame.
We choose to stay in addiction rather than get help.
We choose to remain in unhealthy relationships
We choose to allow others to run our lives because we don’t have boundaries.
How to make good choices
1. Be honest with yourself. Are you making this choice because it seems like the easier thing to do in the short-term? “I don’t want to exercise right now, I’ll do it later.” Or, do you look at the long-term effect of your decision?
2. Weigh your decision. Sometimes our choices are good and bad, good and good, or bad and bad. It may not always be clear. Sometimes, the choice is the lesser of two evils.
3. Not make a choice is making one. When we avoid making a choice, circumstances (not you) will have made one.
4. Research. Information is always an important element when making a choice. An informed mind is more likely to make a good and proper choice. If you rely on emotion alone, you may be disappointed in the end.
5.Talk to someone. Either talk to someone you respect or someone who has been referred to you. Bouncing your ideas off of someone who you respect will help you to make better choices. Getting a different perspective will help you flesh out the pros and cons of your decisions.
Make a choice as if your life depends on it...because it does.