S3 Ep15: Give Up, Push Through, Or Find Another Way?

No matter the obstacles, you always have a choice Very rarely do you get to go from point ‘A’ to point 'B’ smoothly and obstacle free. And every time you come across challenges and obstacles in your life, you can give up, push through, or try another way. That doesn’t always feel true. There are plenty of times when it feels like you’re stuck, trapped, and without recourse. The trouble is, you always have choices – but they’re not always welcome, good, or desirable choices. What is empowerment? It’s too easy to take the meaning of being empowered as being given power by another. Power given to you by anyone who is not you is artificial. Sure, there’s a degree of power to being a parent, a guardian, a boss, a teacher, and the like. But that’s not about power as much as it is about authority. Empowerment is claiming your power to live your life on your terms. It’s never a one-time matter. You Leaving it to random chance disempowers you You can’t count on getting lucky when you allow random happenstance to decide your fate. By not choosing, you cede your power to random chance, circumstance, or perhaps fate. But when you decide not to decide or choose not to choose – you are disempowered. Choice is like any other muscle in your body. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. Hence, the more you actively choose - the more choices you find you can make. Give up, push through, find another way? I believe that every choice presents these options. No matter what the choice might be – these three options always exist. Giving up is a choice. Pushing through can be fraught with challenges. Finding another way is the other option. Right, wrong, and other constructs When it comes to choices, it often feels like there’s a right choice and a wrong choice. When you place these in universal moral fabrics – it’s easy to lose sight of what matters most when it comes to choices. But the constructs of the given extremes aren’t so important when all is said and done. Choice, even in the face of obstacles, empowers you. When you’re empowered, you can help empower others. When more people are empowered – things improve for everyone. You always have a choice – even poor choices are still choices. This week’s Applied Guidance for Mindfulness Tool: Is there an obstacle you have in your life presently? Even if there isn’t, you can use this exercise to analyze your available choices. Write down the issue/problem/obstacle. Now, write and answer the following? ·        Should I give up? What will happen/be the consequence if I choose this? ·        Do I push through? What will happen/be the consequence if I choose this? ·        Can I find another way? What options are there? What will happen/be the consequence if I choose this? This will not just provide clarity of your options/choices. It might help you decide what to choose and why to choose it. Whatever you do – the choice is yours to make.   Author Website Email Instagram Facebook LinkedIn TikTok Blogs: titaniumdon.com and mjblehart.medium.com Cover artist Fe Mahoney: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TaliasInspirations