Decisions

Life is all about decisions.

Everything requires a decision.

Everything.

Most of us make decisions that we don’t even realize we are making.  They have become habit.  Like brushing your teeth.  You don’t wake up each day and actually decide to brush your teeth.  You just do it out of habit.  At least most of us do.  So, you only notice the decision when you change the habit.  If you don’t brush your teeth that day, you likely noticed your decision to not do it.

I have been thinking about this a lot lately.  Because I have decided to focus on my health this year, so there are a lot of decisions to make that are not yet habit.  I have to focus on them and choose to make the same decision over and over again to create a habit.  Which makes me very conscious of the decisions I am making.

This weekend was a three day weekend for me and I desperately needed that extra day to make some decisions.  I know myself pretty well these days and I know that I will get overwhelmed with ‘analysis paralysis’ if I don’t have some downtime, by myself, to really make a decision.  So, I was really excited to have a three day weekend all to myself to make some important decisions.

I decided to join Weight Watchers because I need to learn how to eat better and I still really love food.  I have tried a bunch of other diets but no lifestyle ever stuck because I was giving up too much.  I am hoping this program gives me a new lifestyle.  One where I have good, healthy recipes in rotation so that I don’t ever get stuck again on what I want to eat.  One where I just compete with myself on my points, my activity, even weight loss.  Maybe this one sticks.  Hopefully, this one sticks.

I am also trying to turn going to a gym class into a habit.  You may have seen in earlier posts that this particular activity is a struggle for me.  Luckily, I have found a class that really works for me.  The people in it are all shapes and sizes so I don’t feel out of place.  The instructor is so awesome and has even been working with me since I still don’t have full use of my arm. (see When I fell for more details on that).  I can’t believe now, how good it actually feels going to that class.  My biggest decision now is what to wear to class since almost nothing in my closet fits me right now and that makes me feel good, because hopefully, I am closer to making it a habit.

I have many more decisions to make in the coming months and I am trying to make less of those decisions out of habit.  I am trying to thoughtfully look at what the impacts are of each decision and sometimes take a risk on an outcome that I hope will be the right one for me.  I have big decisions about what to do with my business, and about bringing a new roommate into my life.  I have smaller decisions about what to purge out of my house as I try to go more minimalistic and what to keep that really sparks joy.  Some days it is even as small as whether to binge-watch a TV show or not.

Life is made up of decisions.  Big and small.  They can chart a great course or lead you down the wrong path.  But the great thing about those decisions is that they are not permanent in most cases.  Make a mistake and you can make a different decision the next time.  You just have to keep moving forward and trying.  That is the big lesson.  Just keep trying and keep making those decisions!

 

*Note: there are not any affiliate links in this post because I haven’t decided if I like Weight Watchers yet and I will never recommend anything I don’t like.  But, if you happen to be in Westminster, CO and you love a good gym class, I highly recommend the “Stretch and Flex” class at the rec center.  And if you like posts like these, please subscribe to have them emailed to you once a week.  

🙂