Ryan Lilly (who wrote the book: Write like nobody’s reading)
‘The choice to make good choices is the best choice you can choose. Fail to make that choice and on most choices you will lose.
A choice means to carefully select something. To carefully select something, takes time and effort, have you ever watched a child carefully selecting a sweet from a bag of different sweets? They select carefully – sometimes putting one back to choose another!
How much time do you take with your choices? How carefully do you choose? Do you sometimes re-think your choice?
Why don’t we take a bit more time to think about the choices that we are making daily that will influence the rest of our lives, and our health and the lives of our loved-one?
Yes, it’s true that there are a few things in life that we can’t choose e.g. where we are born, who your parents are etc. For the rest, most of our lives are influenced by the choices we make.
There are moments when you just know the choice that I am making now will have a lasting impact on my life and the people around me…
We are all bearing consequences of not-well-thought-through decisions. As we all know, ‘Wrong decisions are clear in hindsight’.
Let use this opportunity to reflect on how to make better choices today and tomorrow.
Be brave – choose well!
Steven R. Covey
“But until a person can say deeply and honestly “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday” that person cannot say “I choose otherwise”.
Suggestions of a few good choices…
Choose to talk kindly to yourself
“Thinking” and “self-talk” are intertwined. To find out what is on your mind, figure out what you are saying to yourself. Do you worry about the same things again and again? Do you talk to yourself in an encouraging or a hurtful way? Do you see a pattern? Do you believe in yourself?
Noticing your recurring choices is the first step toward changing destructive habits.
Lara Gassen – Be careful of your thoughts, they may become words at any moment.”
Choose to learn new things
What new skill did you learn the past few months? Neurologist, Oliver Sacks –
“Every time we practice an old skill or learn a new one, existing neural connections are strengthened and over time, neurons create more connections to other neurons. Even new nerve cells can be generated.” Learn new things, practice old and new skills, and know that your work will pay off.
Choose to train your brain to be happier
Neurons that fire together, wire together. In other words, “…directed, willed mental activity can clearly and systematically alter brain function.”
For example, if you tend to wallow in frustration and anger when you make mistakes, practice telling yourself, “Mistakes are just part of life. I will make a conscious effort to learn from my mistakes.”
Of course, everything has two sides. You have a choice to keep that a secret, and live a lie. You can stay in that toxic relationship. You can choose not to contact the loved one that you are thinking of for weeks now…
The term “negativity bias” refers to the brain’s tendency to react more strongly to bad things—dangers, threats, mistakes, or problems—than to good things, such as pleasure, opportunity, and joy. Although the negativity bias has helped humans survive by alerting us to possible threats, it makes it harder for us to relax, enjoy life, and be happy.
Luckily, you can train your brain to be happier. Focusing on the positive aspects of life builds new neural structures in the brain. Become aware of pleasant or happy experiences. Bring them to the foreground of your mind. Linger on these experiences for 5 seconds or more. By doing so, you will rewire your brain, making it more likely that you will notice other positive things around you in the future.
Dr. Caroline Leaf says this in her book ‘Switch on Your Brain’
“As we think, we change the physical nature of our brain. As we consciously direct our thinking, we can wire out toxic patterns of thinking and replace them with healthy thoughts.”
Be aware of the choices you have and make good choices!
Amanda Swanepoel is CO-CEO of BrightStar Lifestyle and a speaker on different topics. With her positivity and radiance she is ready to be dream duster.
