Choices

We have so many choices we make in a day, Many of them we don’t even realize we are making. I break them down. Micro, mid, and macro choices. How are you making your choices today?

Podcast Transcript

Let’s do this! It has been too long since I did a podcast. Woofta, time is flying by right now and I would like to slow it down. However, we all know that isn’t going to happen. Anyway, today I want to talk about choices. I recently finished a devotional series on choices and now my brain is in overdrive. Every day we wake up and we have so many choices to make. Hundreds. Literally, and depending on your day, maybe thousands. Some of these choices we make without thinking, they are so automatic. Get up and get out of bed. Done. Now, we might make a choice to hit the snooze button once, or twice, but you still make the choice to get up. Then you make a choice on what to do. Do a Miracle Morning, get ready for work, play on your phones, so many choices!! You make one. This is probably all within the first 5-10 minutes of your morning. We can continue with this list, but I think you know where I am heading with this now. MANY choices throughout your day. 

I also think of choices when I am at a restaurant. I joke that I should go to a place with 5 options, because when there are so many choices I can’t decide. Or when I go to the store for new makeup and literally turn around and buy none because the sheer amount of options is overwhelming and what if I make the wrong choice and pay $40 for foundation that I don’t like at all. Choices! So many choices!! 

At the last ladies group I had, it was fascinating because the age range was from mid-twenties to upper 70s. What an amazing group of women to be able to talk about life choices! Because guess what, many of the choices we have today as women, weren’t not always available. The amount of choices can be overwhelming and daunting to us. One lady in the group made the comment that there weren’t that many choices of what to do as women growing up – teacher, housewife, nurse. That’s it. Pick one. I am not saying this is right or wrong, but I am saying that it is HARD when there are too many choices, we are constantly left wondering if we’ve made the wrong decision. Or, I am at least. Not all the time, but if it is a difficult choice to make or one that has a big impact, then yes, I have to wonder. Or in case of the make up, spending money and not seeing the return. I don’t like that either. 

We know that our daily choices will impact long term outcomes. Like choosing to get up and workout everyday will get you where you want to be with your health goals. And making a choice to put some of your paycheck into savings each time will help you create a retirement. Daily choices compound. Some of the daily choices we are making unconsciously we don’t necessarily understand how they are compounding until they come out…sometimes in ugly ways. If you are making the choice to not take care of yourself, or express your feelings to a friend, spouse, co-worker, you might explode on them and then it is worse. Instead of making the choice to confront a situation as it happens, it has long-term impacts too. And then there are choices that may take you a long time to make, but have huge impacts on your future. What job to take, who to marry, do you have kids, getting a divorce…BIG choices. 

Really, our choices can be categorized. Oh yeah, I get to organize something now! Watch out! LOL. We have the micro-choices; these are the ones we make every day without really thinking. The ones that I mentioned early such as hitting snooze, working out, etc… While they do have long-term impacts, they are micro-choices. Then we have mid-choices. These are the ones that aren’t automatic, have long-term implications, and if not addressed can cause issues. For example, not confronting situations when we need to and letting it all build up. Then we have the macro-choices. These are your big boys…and what we were just talking  about. These are the choices that have BIG implications on your life. Each person makes these choices differently. Some of us make decisions quickly. That is me. I make super fast decisions. Most of the time. Shopping and I like something. I will buy it if it is in my budget. I don’t worry about finding a better one at the next store. If I do, I can return the other one. Sometimes making quick decisions does bite me in the butt, but I do learn from them. I can’t regret any choices I’ve made because they make me who I am today. Clearly that comment is not in reference to clothes shopping, but in reference to the large marco-choices I have made. I have made a lot of macro-choices, and some of them did not work out. And that is okay. I didn’t always think it was okay because some of them were really difficult to go through, but now, looking back, it is okay! I am sure my quick decision making can be stressful for some of my friends and family. But just because I make decisions and choices quickly, doesn’t mean I am not thoughtful about them, or that I haven’t prayed about them. I do. And I do look at the options, outcomes, implications, etc… But once I’ve done that, I don’t sit and think and worry about it. I make a decision. Maybe this isn’t the best way to do it, but it is how I am built, and how my brain works. We truly don’t have a lot of time on this earth so I try to not waste any of it. A co-worker of mine passed away in his sleep last week. He was 51. He has two daughters in high school and college. My heart breaks for them, and it was a reminder that we are never guaranteed tomorrow. Never. 

Regardless if you make choices slow or fast, they all do have implications. And this is what is the most important. Micro, mid, and macro – choices. They all have implications, consequences, outcomes, whatever you’d like to call them. Your choices are important to how your life (and the lives of those around you) will look. I can’t give you a formula for making choices. I really wish I could, but we can look at choices and if we need to be spending more or less headspace on them. 

Micro- choices. They have the compounding implications that could really dictate your future, such as your health. Making the choice to get up 20 minutes earlier to do a workout. Seems micro, but could be macro if you are unhealthy and need to lose some weight. I am looking at myself with this one! Mid-choices could be taking a toll on you emotionally and you don’t realize how that is hurting you each day. Macro-choices, well, these probably don’t need any explanation, but these are the ones that really set your life in a direction in a large way. The thing about macro choices is that they change. This doesn’t mean they should, but they can. If you take a job and it is not what you love, you can get a different job. I am not suggesting that you take macro choices lightly, because you should not, because some choices are for life. I am suggesting that you look at all the facts and maybe outside of the box a little bit when making macro-choices. 

The other part of all of this is that you are the one making choices for your life. Yes, they could impact your family and maybe your friends, but they are still your choices. You aren’t going to make a choice that is harmful to you, your family, your friends, etc… I know this. None of us would knowingly do that. I say this, because I am, or was the queen of worrying about what everyone else thought of my choices. Remember that people pleasing girl? Yep! All she cared about what making other people happy with her choices. This is a balance and it is hard to find. At 41, living in a small town, I still find myself worrying about what others might think of me. Silly! At the end of the day, they are your choices, you have to live with the consequences. If you’ve weighed all of the options to your micro, mid, and macro choices, then you are good. Make your choice! Just make one, don’t sit and wait for another day to go by. If you’ve been holding off on making a choice or saying your answer. Today is the day.