MAKING HARD DECISIONS
Sometimes in life, we're faced with having to make a tough choice. It's so very tempting to do nothing or make the easy choice but neither of those choices is the best choice. When we think to ourselves "I'll just wait and see how this plays out." we've made a choice. We've chosen to let life decide for us - we've given up our personal power to avoid making a decision.
I remember the day that I became an 'adult'. I was already married and a mother of two which implies that I was an adult but mentally I don't think that I really believed that I was an adult. We had a cat named Mango who went from being healthy and robust literally overnight. For various reasons, it was up to me to take Mango into the vet to see what if anything could be done. I had to put Mango kitty down which was the moment I became 'The Adult' or 'The Mom' as opposed to a mom.
Since then I've had to make other hard decisions. Some of the hard decisions include what I was and was not willing to put up with from others. This can be very challenging especially when it comes to family members. Another one I had to make was what did I want to do with my life? What was important to me. I had spent so much of my life taking care of others that I really had no idea what I wanted. And heaven forbid that I actually stood my ground in an uncomfortable situation.
I've come a long, long way from those days and find it hard to watch those around me avoid making hard decisions because it's hard. A senior citizen I know is in a situation where they are most likely going to lose their home. They have no savings and limited options. Instead of making the decision to take action they sit in their home wringing their hands waiting for someone to rush in and save them when all they need to do is take action to save themselves.
Another person I know has an injured animal. This animal basically lives in a very confined area that strictly limits movement because of a serious injury. My friend needs to decide to either get the required very expensive surgery or put the animal down. The injury will not heal on its own and will require close to a year of confinement during the recovery period but at least there's light at the end. It's a hard choice but one that needs to be made sooner rather than later out of kindness to the animal. She can't make up her mind which is unfair to the animal but easier on her.
Not all hard decisions are as big or dramatic as my two examples, in fact, many of our hard decisions are rather small and seemingly insignificant yet have far-reaching ramifications. Take for example skipping doing cardio for a few days which ends up turning into a few weeks then a few months and before you know it it's been years since you've done any real cardio. Or say adding salt to everything you eat which over time can result in hypertension or high blood pressure. Or not having time to play with our kids right now - we'll do it later, only to wake up one day to find them leaving for college.
When we're able to make those hard small decisions we are then able to more readily make those hard big decisions because we have a personal history of making hard decisions regardless of the size. I challenge you to start honoring yourself by making small hard decisions daily so that when you are faced with a really big hard decision you'll be able to face it head-on and make the right decision for the greatest good for all concerned.
Here's to You in Health, Wellness, and Fitness,
Jennifer Malocha CEO of Winner Circle Coaching