Choices??

Today I have been thinking quite a bit about choices.  There is so much power in the choices that we make!  I think that sometimes we operate under the impression that the "real" choices to be made are in the big moments that come into our lives every now and then.  Sometimes this is the case!  But more often than not, we are making a myriad of seemingly minor daily decisions that do become critically important when the sum comes into play.  One factor that really jumps out at me is that when we are happy with our own choices in a situation we generally have a greater sense of well being in general. Of course life is more enjoyable when A, B and C are all looking good and we feel that we can't go wrong!  But when A, B and C all seem just plain crummy, we are still going to feel better about things when we make a decision that we can stand by in the end.  It is the difference of feeling as though we are genuinely doing our best or feeling as though we are just being carried along with the flow of life.  

Part of what I really enjoy about my role as a Beachbody Coach is that within our challenge groups we are equipping individuals with the information needed to make an educated choice about their own health!  Once we get a good baseline going, the next part is where the difference is made.  We are there offering support for one another when the perceived difference between A and B has become somewhat stark but yet we are still inclined towards the option of lesser good.  So often convenience wins out over what is better for us in the long run.  This is where we have to step in and make the change for ourselves!  A coach on my team posted this image in her clean eating group earlier this afternoon.  To me, it fit right in with my own recent pondering on the choices we make.

Here is my FAVORITE part as I weigh the power of choice we each have within our own lives.  Say you have an end goal of losing 20 pounds to become more healthy.  Knowing that this is not going to happen in a day or a week, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of discouragement which then leads to a cycle of less-than-great choices.  Really feeling good about reaching a goal is obviously not going to happen overnight!  But let's look at an aspect which is familiar to many of us.  How good do we feel about life when we ARE happy with our daily (even hourly!) choices?  Isn't this going to set us on a much better course, despite the inevitable detours and bumps in the road?  For example, this weekend involved several social events where I did okay with my choices but not the best (or even my usual!) by any means.  I was feeling physically a bit crummy and also just not so great about the choices I made.  Now here we are at the end of ONE day "back on track" and I feel great!  What a difference!  How neat to know that we can have this sense of accomplishment on a daily basis, rather than just feeling good when we reach our big goals!

And finally, any time that I spend thinking about the power of choice is going to include some reflection on what I know the Bible to say about this.  Now I am NOT in any way tying this next portion into what I was saying above in relation to a healthy lifestyle.  We are God's creation and of course it makes sense to honor Him with our bodies and the variety of choices that we make.  But now I am thinking again of the daily choices we make and Joshua 24:15 is what comes to mind...

1 Timothy 4:8 made an impression on me when I was a young girl: ^"Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future."  I did go through a phase where I was not putting enough value on the physical exercise part!  Now that I have headed in the opposite direction, I have to FOCUS to make sure that I am consistently placing a higher value on my spiritual exercise.  It all comes back to the choices we make within each day.  2 Peter 1:3-9 remains as my checklist of goals when it comes to making progress with my spiritual health!  And we have access to the ultimate coach... the one known as the "author and perfecter of our faith"!   

^"3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ⁴ And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

⁵In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
⁸ The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins."