Time to decide – but then again, it always is.
The word “decide” comes from the same family of words as homicide, suicide, regicide, genocide. The suffix ‘-cide’ has the root meaning ‘to kill.’ Thus, ‘decide’ literally means to kill off alternative choices.
For many people, health behaviors are now getting harder since they are forced into a space of conscious choice rather than participation coming from the usual rhythms and routines or our normal lives.
Following up on the previous post’s “Meditation on Motivation,” this is a little “Deliberation on Decision” to keep the alliteration humming along.
If we think of “decide” in the terms described above – killing off alternative choices – the stakes for decisions suddenly seem higher and perhaps, as I hope, taken a bit more seriously.
Our decisions relating to health behaviors, now more than ever, say a lot about the identity we either currently have or aspire to. To who we are or see ourselves becoming.
The momentum of life no longer ushers us to the next part of our day. For many of us, it is now up to us.
At first this is hard, but if you think of it differently, it is an opportunity. You now get to actively choose health behaviors. If you had no auto-pilot (i.e., habit) for health behaviors before, you may stumble at first.
With repetition, any choice gets easier. But now is the time to decide. To choose to make the next behavior one that nudges you closer to health or farther away.
It’s deciding to improve, maintain, or regress. It is up to you, and that is both scary and beautiful.
Latest Podcast Interview
I was the inaugural guest on the “Driving Improvement” podcast. Give it a listen. We talked about finding “your spark,” the thing that will make you decide to live a fit, healthy life once-and-for-all.
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