Decisions, Decisions...

I remember someone once telling me that we “choose our attitudes, so we should always choose to have a good one.” I always kind of thought that this was BS. I mean, what if I’m having a bad day and my boss is a jerk and I fight with my boyfriend and get in a car accident. Really? Don’t I have the right to have a bad attitude about these things? I mean, they’re sucky and I don’t want to smile and pretend to be happy when my boss treats me poorly or I’m handing my insurance card to the other driver. I’m a firm believer in owning your emotions.



BUT, I am also a big believer in making decisions. I feel like there is a difference between a decision and a choice.



A choice is something you do on a test:



Today I will be



a. Happy

b. Sad

c. Overly-enthusiastic

d. Angry



Sometimes I feel ALL of those emotions in one day. I own them, but what I DECIDE is that I won’t let the negative emotions derail my efforts to do my best and to be my best.



I’m not perfect by any means, but I try to make good decisions.



I DECIDE to pack my gym bag every night before I go to sleep so I have no excuse not to take it in the morning.



Then I DECIDE to bring it into my office and sit it on the floor, so I won’t have an excuse not to go to the gym after work. (It’s staring at me with those googly-eyes….”You’d better hit the gym, lady!!!”)



I DECIDE that I will run in the morning because its summer and it gets hot and I’ll most likely flake and complain if I plan to run in the evenings.



I DECIDE to buy healthy food so even when I’m feeling down and want to shovel food in my face, my choices are limited to healthy snacks.



I DECIDE not to eat 100% clean. That a night on the town with my friends that includes an adult beverage is good for my soul and that’s just as important as my body.



I DECIDE that I will appreciate my blessings and accomplishments (which is not always easy because as human beings we tend to focus on the negative)



I DECIDE that I will try to remain a positive influence on my friends and the world around me. Nothing good will come from me being negative. When I have those “not so positive” moments I have them, but then I DECIDE to focus on something else.



I DECIDE.



I will never be the kind of person who makes every situation rainbows and butterflies. In fact, I don’t want to be that person. Some problems are not meant to have a positive spin, but they are meant to have a solution. I want to recognize a challenge and find a way to overcome it not dress it up in an evening gown and call it Ms. Congeniality.



Maybe I’m splitting hairs. Choice or decision? What’s the real difference? The difference for me is that sometimes I have NO choice over my feelings or my reactions, they are emotional and they just happen. But lucky for this control-freak, I have TOTAL power over the decisions I make. I am the Queen of Decision Land and I rule over my subjects with a firm hand.



I will do everything that I can to make positive and life-changing, life-making decisions.



So today I will make healthy food DECISIONS even though I’m eating out with friends. I will go to spin class after work even though I DECIDED to run 2.5 miles this morning.



What will you DECIDE to do today?