Choices

Sometimes we make a choice that, deep down, we know isn’t in our best interest. It is contrary to who we want to be. And we do it over and over because it keeps us comfortable. We’re afraid of facing all the things in our lives that are bothering us. That would mean “identifying what in your life can be fixed, changed, and transformed.”¹ That is why the choices we make drive who we can and cannot become.

I Can, I Will, I Must

The past week was hard. Because I made the wrong choices that sabotaged the progress and momentum from the week before. When I should have been writing, I was surfing online. I didn’t have the discipline to not devour the whole back of Pull-N-Peel Twizzlers (so good!). When everything around me felt like it was falling apart, I complained to whoever would listen and blindly agree.

I wasn’t the best version of myself. Far from it. Because I was discouraged and stopped believing in myself and my dreams. I doubted my ability to keep going, afraid to try again and fail. But like I wrote in last week’s blog post, I’m tired of the life I’m living. Tired of letting the excuses I tell myself rule me and the day. Tired of listening to all the noise and naysayers working to convince me that it’s okay to be ordinary. But to become who I want to be and create the life I want, I cannot be tired of trying. I can, I must, and I will make choices that support my becoming.

Choices

Sometimes we’re going to be knocked down in life. And in those moments of challenge, how we choose to act—what we decide to do next—directly impacts who we become. I will choose to get back up no matter how many times I fall. Because the only one stopping me from becoming who I want to be is me. I must believe in myself when everything is going against me. Believe when no one else believes in me. When I feel like giving up, believe. If I fail again, still believe.

Because in all that I do, the only opinion that matters is mine. I must constantly remind myself that I am only in control of myself. My thoughts, my actions, my feelings.² Everything else—that noise—is jibber jabber. It’s up to me to make the choices that push me past the finish line.

And I want to tell you today that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And you don’t need anyone’s permission to be—wholly and unapologetically—who you are.

1. West, B. (2020). The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage into Self-Mastery, New Nork: Thought Catalog Books, p. 80 [↩]
2. Robbins, M. (2022). The Let Them Theory, New York, Hay House LLC, p. 30. [↩]