How do we know how to make the right choices in our lives?
No matter what, we opt, always, for that which we think will be the most fulfilling choice for us, no matter how it looks to others. We come up with justifications as to why we choose one thing over another, but, bottom line, feeling good is our motivator.
Even choosing chocolate chip cookies when you know they're not on your diet feels great at the time. It's a kind of declaration of independence from the rules and expectations we impose on ourselves. When when we make choices that feel good in the short run and bad in the long it's a clear sign that we're not feeling free. So how can we set ourselves free so we won't rebel against ourselves when the (chocolate) chips are down?
We can decide to look at our goals clearly.
When we are faced with a choice, and we know it's a stepping stone on our way toward our goal, we know exactly where to step next to get closer to what we say we want. Following the diet analogy, let's say our goal is to lose weight. Eating that chocolate won't help. Why then, do we succumb to our overpowering urge to eat it?
Perhaps because that goal is a false one. Do we want to lose weight for ourselves, or so we'll look a specific way in the eyes of others? If we're doing it for societal approval, we're following a false goal. Our teenage self recognizes the bullshit and goes for the chocolate (I'll show YOU!)
When we choose our goals based on the expectations or constraints of our culture, we will feel the opposite of free.We will only feel free when we choose what we want simply because we want it, no excuses, no justifications, and no reason other than our own needs.
How wonderful it feels to choose our own path, to go for a goal without regard to its "rightness or wrongness". It's a wind-in-your-hair sort of feeling that will make your heart sing. Choosing an inner directed goal will always set you free.
Your inner teenager will be happy, and so will you!
Finding Method in the Madness:
