Today I will be writing about about choices, challenges and change. These are three things the we are faced with, everyday of our life. We cannot escape these three things and it is vital to a balanced life for us to be able to handle the “C” triplets.
We make choices everyday, or choices are made for us, if we are children. There is a saying that, “You make your choice, then your choice makes you”. Look at the day to day choices that you make. Are you making choices that will make you, or break you, in the long run? First of all, none of us should be making choices that are illegal, immoral, or unethical. There are some things, however, that do not fall into that category and are not that extreme.
One day my husband said to me: “You have to stop sleep eating.” Here is the backstory. When I was pregnant with my second daughter, I used to eat like a horse at all times of the day or night. I would fall asleep on the sofa and he would wake me up, to go to bed. I would immediately head for the fridge, stuffing my face with whatever it was that was unhealthy (of course), and then go to bed. Fast forward to 2010, I lost the baby weight, finished residency and started “sleep eating”, again. It was at this point that my husband “raised the alarm”, so to speak. Almost imperceptibly, the weight started to inch back and I realized that the choices I was making were not helping me to stay at my desired weight. For you, it might not be a weight issue. If you are a student, partying every weekend will probably not give you the desired grades. If you are trying to build a business, spending your extra money on frivolous things may leave you without the vital resources you need to take your business to the next level. If you are a mother, intent on raising well behaved children, you have to make choices, daily, to keep them on the right path.
“Your daily choices should take you towards where you want to go, not away from it.”
Challenges come to all of us and life happens. Loved ones die (my father died just before my medical school finals); divorces happen, jobs get lost, people break up. Sometimes you put into something, a ton of effort to see an ounce of results. People break promises, people get sick. We help people who do not appreciate it and they take advantage of us.
What do you do? Well, I do not have the answer to all of life’s challenges, and I would not know exactly what to do in your situation. However what not to do is ask: “Why did this happen to me?” I guarantee you, asking this question, never produces answers (I am not of the opinion that, “everything happens for a reason”). It can start you on a dark path that does not lead to recovery. It leads to bitterness, hardness of heart and even more pain.
You face challenges with prayer, the Word of God, and a will to fight back. You face challenges by leaning on your true friends, supporters, mentors and family. You turn to your village, be open and authentic and take life head on. You may grieve yes, but your grief will not last forever.
“Whatever challenges you are facing, God has a plan for you and you will get through it.”
It amuses me when people say , “You have changed”, either to me, or to others. I think to myself, I hope so. Change is not always bad, we have to change as we grow. I certainly hope that I am changing for the better, into the person that God wants me to be. If you see something wrong with the way you do things, repent and start to make corrections. If you need to switch careers, make the necessary changes. Go back to school if need be. Time is marching on and down the line, you do not want to look back and think, “I should have done this back then” or “I wish I had given up smoking ten years ago”. Change is the only constant thing in life. Just make sure that your changes are improvements and not regressions. Ask the people close to you to tell you the truth about yourself.
“Change is a good thing.”
In what ways do choices, challenges and change affect us? I would love to read your comments. Please drop a line and subscribe to this blog, for free updates, delivered to your inbox.