Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Instead of.


I am in such a funky mood.* Like one of those funky moods where I just want to squirm on the floor & scream at the top of my lungs. Just typing that has me contemplating whether or not I could get away with it, or if my neighbors would call the cops. I don't know which option would be worse. Maybe I won't do that. Maybe I'll just write, instead...

Lately, I've been thinking about all of the things that I (still) want to do with my life, and applying the only lesson I retained from my brief stint in a college economics class: "Opportunity Cost." The cost of every choice you make is the value of the opposite choice. Basically, if you are at a fork in the road, and you go left, the cost of that choice is the value of going right. I've been "conducting informal field studies" (i.e. "asking people") to find out how others made the decision to take one road or the other. I thought I'd get a lot of clear answers, but what I found that there is a huge crowd of people standing at the fork, waiting for a sign.

Really? Precious minutes are ticking away, and we're waiting for a sign?

So, then my investigation took a turn: "If you (we) aren't doing the things that we say are important to us, what are we doing instead?"

Here's what I found:

Lots of reacting instead of acting.

Waiting for things to change instead of changing things.

I've been guilty of it too. Wishing things were different instead of doing things differently. Letting precious moments tick away, and blaming my reaction or inaction on "circumstance" rather than "choice."

Excuses, excuses.

The world moves forward. Everything in nature evolves. If you have willfully stunted your own growth, you may as well be moving backward.

* Today, right now, I choose to breathe.
* I choose to stand in what's true, regardless of how things appear.
* I choose to remember that I have been blessed with everything I need to serve the purpose for which I was created.
* I choose not to let go of optimism's hand.
* I choose not to feed pessimism.


And in writing this, I now remember that I can choose to adjust my attitude. Instead of being a slave to circumstance, I can (and will)choose to practice joy. I choose to win.

--Nicole

P.S. - *I've been really salty because, just as I had gotten ahead financially- paid off ALL debt (except for my student loan), contributed to my retirement fund, and had a little something in savings, my car (just paid off in November) decided to develop a chronic illness that is threatening to deplete my savings. I had plans for that money, and it didn't include rescuing an ailing car over & over. Still, it is what it is. I am practicing joy. I will make more money. I will do the things on my list anyway, and this will be no more than a bump in the road. I've been here before. I'ma be aight.

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