Everything we do requirs a choice to be made. Get up or hit the snooze? Eat the chocolate or the apple? Continue to wallow in self-pity or do something to change the situation? Stay on the couch instead of going for a walk. These are all choices to be made. My choices. Your choices. No one else can make them for us or even force us to make a choice we don’t want.

That is a choice – to do what someone else wants to make life easier, avoid an argument or any other reason we can come up with instead of saying “I choose this instead.” It’s also a choice to listen to what certain people say and ignore others. Even our own inertia is a choice. Because sometimes it’s just hard to get yourself doing that thing you know you want, or maybe even need, to do. We can do the hard work.

Part of the problem is that we forget we also need to rest. So if something was hard to get started and you’re not sure you can sustain the momentum. Take a break. Give yourself an hour to read or nap or watch TV. Just don’t start to use “resting” as the excuse to not make the next choice that will move you forward.

No path worth taking is always easy. The hard parts are what help us grow. Don’t beat yourself up – just move forward, one choice at a time.