Hello beautiful people!
Let’s talk about choices.
I was encouraging someone who’d felt the whole day was blown (this is in that “don’t flatten your tires” territory I once riffed about on Periscope). The original poster was talking about how the whole day was blown, so she’d might as well eat everything and start over tomorrow. I said, essentially, that this is crazy. It’s like trying to quit smoking, having a weak moment, lighting a cigarette, and then deciding to not only smoke that whole thing but an entire carton while you’re at it. It’s a horrible idea and it definitely gets you no closer to your goal.
The analogy I use works with any habit we’re hoping to change: Imagine coming out to your parked car and seeing a flat tire. Disappointing. Inconvenient. Sure… but do you grab a knife and slash the three other tires? Of course not. You get to work on solutions for repairing the flat, replacing the tire itself, or getting a ride so you’re on time for the day, knowing you’ll deal with the flat later.
What I said that rocked the world of the dieter (and many others reading along) is this: Every bite’s a choice.
Further, every MOMENT is a choice. Every THOUGHT is a choice. Every everyTHING is a choice, babe. Everything.
So, this leads to today’s lesson, in which I suggest — especially if you’re the “shame spiral” type when it comes to anything that goes “wrong” in life — using a spectacular improv game from theatre sports to make a new choice.
It may not fix everything to be positive, but it sure as shit doesn’t help to be negative. At least not me, anyway.
You’ll find people around you are surprisingly supportive of “new choice” living when you label it an experiment. Just saying, “I’m trying something new for 100 days,” can get folks on your side and possibly get them making changes for the positive too!
Today’s work: Identify a place to make a new choice. Find yourself in a rut? New choice. This can be itty-bitty stuff like thinking about something else or making a change of venue from where you usually sit to do your work all the way up to choosing to no longer be defined by something that’s happened in your life. Choosing today to be flavored by rather than defined by your history can create miracles. Even the little shifts can open up things for you like you may not have imagined possible! However “big” you go with this, really work the “new choice” muscle. It’s one that facilitates improvisational work so well because it explores creative parts of our brains that crave serving us more. Let these unexplored choices come play today.
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
