There are many people out there right now who are hating on 2018, saying that it was the worst year ever. And many of us are saying that it was the best year ever and we can’t wait to see what 2019 brings to us. Either way, I didn’t want to do a post pontificating on how my 2018 was the best year ever, and why I am feeling really positive about 2019, and the good choices I have made.
In fact, I just wanted to talk about habits. Life is a series of choices and habits. We get up in the morning, and instead of drinking a healthy green smoothie or eating a Chia bowl, or something else like that, we end up chowing down a McDonald’s Breakfast Sandwich (in all of its ooey-gooey goodness). Or we have confronted with the choice of taking the stairs to the fourth floor or the elevator, and again we go with one choice or another.
Life is a series of good or bad choices. Not all choices you will make in a day will be good for you. And not all choices you make in a day will be bad for you. We always fall somewhere in the middle.
Too Many Bad Choices Negate Any Good Choices
The problem is when we end up making too many bad choices in a row, over a period of time, be it a week or a month or even a year. Perhaps, you are looking back upon 2018, and looking at the series of bad choices you made, and that is causing you to regret the way you spent your time.
Not all choices you made were probably bad. But there were enough bad choices in your day and week and month that it resulted in an overall bad year for you. That’s how choices work. Enough bad choices can negate a really good choice.
Even if you get up in the morning, and go for a run every single day, thus, making a good morning choice. But then you end up eating crap for the rest of the day, because you deserve it, or end up sitting on your ass all day at your computer or in front of your TV, that good choice in the morning won’t matter anymore.
Good choices need to be big, bold, and sprinkled out throughout the day.
Some Good Choices To Make Through The Day
There are many good choices to make during the day that can turn the table of your day, and thus, your year. Because what is a year, but a series of days, and a series of hourly choices?
For example, I get up in the morning, and I have the choice to either go on my phone right away, and browse Instagram, or do a meditation session. It’s so easy some days to choose the meditation. On other days, I would rather die than meditate, and I end up wasting precious morning minutes on social media, making myself feel worse.
Easy choice to make, but sometimes not so at the moment.
Same thing with every food choice. Instead of stuffing myself with spinach and eggs, I could stuff myself with chips and ice cream. Not every day, but somedays, I do end up doing that. And of course, regretting it right away, as my stomach groans in misery.
There are so many choices that we can make during the day that can enhance our lives. Choosing a healthier option at lunch and dinner vs. fries and a burger. Or choosing the stairs rather than the elevator or escalator. Choosing to avoid social media and online shopping, and reading a book instead of listening to an audiobook.
There are many of these interesting choices that we can sprinkle through the day so that when we go to sleep at night, we feel like we had a productive day rather than a day filled with terrible choices.
One Bad Choice Does Not Make An Entire Life Bad
As humans, we have a tendency to do this. We tend to think that if we have had one bad choice, that means we are condemned for the rest of our life, and we have no choice except to give it all up. That’s not true. One bad choice or even many bad choices do not ruin a life.
In fact, we can make hundreds of bad choices in a lifetime, and many of us do, and we can still end up on top, as long as we balance out those choices with a lot of powerful, good choices.
That’s why I wanted to write this post today, on the first day of the new year, 2019, and say, we have the freedom now to live a good life. Every single day from now on is a fresh new day where we can make new choices that are good for us. And even if we fail, and end up making a few bad choices, it doesn’t mean that we need to give up completely. There’s always still hope.
So many people have gone to the utter dark side, completely devastated because of their bad decisions, and pulled themselves back up again to the light. You can do it as well. There’s always hope. Because there’s always another choice coming, and another chance for you to make it right.
