How making decisions can set you free.
Indecision is rife with pain.
This pain doesn’t have to be diabolical to be destructive either. Usually, it’s not, it’s a low-lying, under the radar kind of pain which is enough to keep you paralyzed in place, unable to move forward, backward, or toward anything.
Indecisiveness can keep us moving in circles as well, which is even more frustrating; you think you’re getting somewhere because you’re moving when in fact you’re reliving the same thinking and processes day in, day out. Yes, circular motion can be terribly deceiving.
I read something by someone, I can’t remember who at the moment, it was probably Seth Godin as I find myself picking his brain a lot these days, and it was about his breakfast and how he eats the same thing almost every day, I can’t remember exactly what it was, but that’s not important. The important bit is why he does it.. and I believe it’s quite obvious at this point. Because it’s a decision that’s already been made, so, therefore, one less decision he has to make.
Little decisions, big decisions, the effort it takes to do either is similar to patience… we’re only given a finite amount of certain abilities a day and when they run out, life can feel messy. Life can feel like it’s falling apart.
Making decisions require a certain amount of mental bandwidth — and the agony of going back and forth, hemming, and hawing — can eat away at your soul.
And it will keep you stuck longer than you’d like. The harder it is to decide, the longer you’ll feel stuck. Until one day, you finally make a decision, a choice, a pathway to freedom, and that’s when life begins to unfold — or at the very least, the pressure that was weighing down on you disappears.
Look for your choices, pick the best one, then go with it — Pat Reily
Go with it and see what happens.
Most likely you’ll find that you’re saving time — and we know what a priceless commodity time is. You’re also getting things done, making things happen, finding out if your ideas are worthwhile or lackluster, and in need of more research.
You’ll be 10 pounds lighter because you stopped thinking about exercise and instead are doing it every day, and you tossed out the junk from the pantry instead of thinking about doing that. You made a concrete decision, and now life can get on with itself.
You re-organized your bedroom closet, you now get up at 5 am to begin writing that book, you signed up for a knitting class, you’re taking Tao Kwon Do… you’re doing that thing you’ve always wanted to do but never made the decision to do. Until now.
Saves you from pain as well.
Making a decision to not let old painful memories play out on repeat is also a decision. When something bad happens, you have a choice to let it continually play out — repeatedly allowing those emotions to run you over, and then back up on you so they can run over you again — or you can choose to focus on something else.
You may have to make that choice over and over again, but at least you’re not stuck. At least there are moments, maybe brief at first, that allow you freedom from hurtful emotions. In time, those moments will grow and you’ll be able to find longer periods of respite.
Making a decision to heal gives you the freedom to move on. Step outside your self-imprisoned mind and begin living again.
There’s freedom in being disciplined, and there’s freedom in making a choice because it allows you to get on with life.
So get on with life, and get busy trying to live a life you can love.
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AM Costanzo is a wellness coach, a motivational junkie, loves a-ha moments, and loves to help people feel strong, powerful, and downright fabulous in body and mind!
