Choices

Article as appeared in The New Leaf ™.

Every moment of every day we make choices. Most of the time we choose automatically, unconsciously, and much of the time that works. Who needs or wants to be aware of every microscopic decision? Still, there are times when being unaware of our choices gets us stuck and keeps us there.

As I type this I am on hold with a telecommunications company. I've been trying for 30 minutes (make that 40) to get information about a new service. I've called four different 800 numbers, navigating voice mail Hell in each before being transferred to yet another department only to be given a new number to try. As far as I can tell, what I want is fairly straightforward, getting it, however, is not.

The point of sharing this is that I have a number of choices in this situation, including:

• how much time to spend on the phone.
• what I say to myself about the situation.
• trying other ways to get the information.
• delegating the task.

These and other choices will affect the other choices I make today: whether I finish this column on time, how much I enjoy the sunny day, what I choose to have for lunch, even how fast I drive to my appointments this afternoon.

Fortunately for me, I had already decided to write this column about choices. I chose to hang up after 40 minutes, sensing that my good intentions to keep my cool were being stretched to the max. I'll try again later, or I'll try another way. I'll have a salad and not a peanut-butter cup for lunch. I'll drive carefully, enjoying the sunshine. And, look Ma, the column is almost complete!

I wish you a week of positive choices. It really is up to you.