Last month we talked about how to create consistent habits but how many actions do you perform on a daily basis that may have become a habit without much conscious thought or decision making? Do you always eat dessert after dinner? Do you always want or need dessert for dinner? Do you press the snooze button a few more times than you would like? As wonderful and useful as habits can be there often needs to be a conscious thought preceding it to make sure that it is a beneficial decision. This month we are talking about making conscious decisions: deciding to do something rather than just doing it based off ritual or impulse.
We all only have 24 hours in a day and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Try to consider when you may have to choose between two uses of your time or energy - most times you can only do one or the other. Or sometimes we are faced with conflicting goals that might not compliment, or may even negate each other, like supporting local businesses and saving money. Then we have to consider our priorities and our reasons: why is that the decision you made and can you justify it? If not, rethink it, if so, go for it! This will also slow down our thought process so that we can think more critically about the decisions we are making rather than just going through the motions.
Our challenge for the month is going to involve doing a daily check in. We are going to use the phrase "I'd rather… but …" For example: "I'd rather sleep in but I hate to feel rushed in the morning and will be less stressed if I wake up." But the phrase can go both directions - it is not about picking what you would automatically think about as the "healthy choice" but rather about justifying your decision. For example: "I would rather save money and not go out to eat but my best friend invited me to dinner to celebrate her birthday." Even though your initial thought about saving money aligns with your financial goals a conflicting social goal of spending quality time with your friends may take precedence. So again it is about deciding what your priority is in that particular situation.
I look forward to seeing your feedback and please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!
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