The Power of Choice

The Power of Choice

The most fundamental superpower we have is our power to choose. And for so many of us, it is our least developed superpower. We kind of bumble through our lives, mostly in habit and routine, barely aware that we have any choice at all. We do the same, we feel the same, we think the same, and call it security, even if it’s not very nice.

Choosing from awareness is a dynamic thing. It’s powerful, deeply transformative, and a serious act of personal power. Wow.

Why do I choose? What makes me decide? How am I powerful?

By practicing choosing in awareness, I am placing value on myself. For many of us, this is in itself a rather daring act. For many of us, the habit of discounting our worth to bargain basement value is old, deeply ingrained, and we think of it as Truth.

As we practice being aware, of our surroundings, of where our bodies are, of how we feel in our physical selves, in our emotional selves, of our thoughts, we start to claim our lives as something worth living.

This practice helps us notice when we are caught up in habits that hurt us. It isn’t unusual for us to have a nice life, a decent place to live, enough money to manage on, friends and family who love us, and for us to feel bad. I lived there for a long time. I was so sad. I was so stuck in paucity. I lived deep in the Lack Tree Forest, focused on what I didn’t have, and choosing unconsciously to stay there.         

It was an insidious habit that ate holes in my life. Awareness helped me notice that I was choosing to look at everything as a burden. My shoulders ached all the time.

Little by little, I began to choose to appreciate what I have. Little by little, I felt grateful for the help I receive, for my job, for my home, for my friends and family. As I practiced choosing gratitude, I started to move out from the Lack Tree Forest into abundance.

Why can I choose? How am I strong? What makes me competent?

Exercising choice, consciously, over and over every day, a thousand tiny choices, means that when I have big choices to make, the path to choosing is wide and clear. I have come to know my mind. I can choose to change my feelings, I can choose to change my thoughts, my attitudes, my environment, even my relationships.

Exercising choice over and over gives me a sense of control, of my personal power. When I let my life be run by my unconscious habits, I feel helpless, out of control, and often powerless. That feels awful.

When I choose gratitude, I relax. I recognize the fullness and abundance of my life. I can make changes from a place of power rather than a place of desperation. By choice, aware, thoughtful, mindful choice. This is power.

How have I changed from letting old thoughts run my life to practicing my superpower of choice?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 08132014