(writer John F. Lacson on his vacation in Canada last week)
Yesterday I was deciding whether I should go to the gym or not. In a way it was a hard decision to make since I had a long day and was tired from work. On the other hand, a part of me said that working out was necessary for so many reasons.
I made the decision to go gym. Exercising is such a pain in the beginning, but it gets better after you warm up. Towards the end of 90 minute routine, I was really into it. It gets easier once you are into the swing of it. After getting in the pool and swimming a few laps, I proceeded to the sauna to de-stress myself. After showering, I hang out at the locker room talking to a couple of my gym buddies.
Getting dressed and preparing to leave the gym, I felt really great! My body endorphins (or dopamine?) were pouring it on and I was on a natural physical high. I strutted out of the gym enjoying this positive feeling and felt good about the decision to go work out. I promised myself that to do it regularly since it was the correct thing to do. The wonderful feeling was instant gratification for a job well done.
Life has a definite way of letting us know which paths to take. When we are presented with a decision-making situation, we instinctively know what the right action should be. During the first few seconds of these moments, we know what needs to be done.
But the sad thing is that proper action would normally take us out of our comfort zones. If we start dieting we can’t eat our favorite foods. Or, in order to clean the house, we need to get off that sofa and stop watching television. It takes a lot of inner strength to go ahead and do what is right.
Making the right move is an individual choice. Only we, as individuals, know what is going on inside our minds. Nobody else is witness to how our mind processes the decisions to go yes or no, left or right, or up/down. Bottom line is the individual. We know when we have made that wrong decision by eating that extra plate of food or buying that pack of cigarettes. Judge, jury, executioner, and culprit. We are all of these when we ponder an inappropriate move. We enjoy, then feel guilty.
If only we could listen to that initial voice that points to the right decision, regardless of the comfort zone syndrome. It would be nice to develop that habit of making the right moves knowing that we are slowly but surely making something of ourselves. All it takes is one step at a time, one correct move at a time. This process is referred to as character building. Before we know it, we are masters of our destinies, captain of our ships, and whatever else you may want to call it. The important thing is that we are happy with ourselves.
The message here is never underestimate a small decision. As long as we listen to our inner self and execute the correct action, then we are on the right road to a better person. Don’t rationalize. Make sure to realize!
By: John F. Lacson
For comments, email John at: jflriv@aol.com