Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Recognizing our Choices

This trip snuck up on me fast! As this is being posted, I'm winging my way across the US, en route to the middle east... again. I have some interesting projects to work on this time. As always it will be good to see all my friends.

Getting ready to leave home is exciting, but it can be a chore. Deciding what to take with you, and preparing the place you are leaving for your absence can be challenging! I always find myself feeling a bit pressured in the final hours before I head to the airport. This time was no exception.

I really worked diligently this time to prepare with an air of peace around me. I wanted the process to be enjoyable and calm, rather than harried and crazy. I was fairly successful in this endeavor, but it's never easy for me!

I'm at a point in my life where I want the things I choose to do to be done in peace. Ultimately, just about everything I do is done by choice. If you think about it, this is true for most of us. Often times we convince ourselves that we don't have choices, but if we look at our situations very honestly, there is almost always a choice. We might have to work for a living, but what we do, which place we work, and the attitude with which we do it are all choices that we get to make.

Sometimes just reminding ourselves that we do, in fact, have choices, can shift our relationship to a particular experience or task. That is what I was working with as I prepared for this trip. It is also the approach I'm attempting to bring to the new endeavors I'm taking on in my life. It really improves the enjoyment that I get from the every day tasks I engage in!

Remember... you have many choices in your life. If you are feeling trapped, stuck or helpless, try looking for all the choices that you CAN make. It will help you shift an attitude of 'have to' to an attitude of 'choose to.' Choosing feels a whole lot better!