Use a permanent marker. Make a choice. Take that trip. Order that dessert. Speak UP!
Usually, when I come across two common themes from separate outlets (written by people I respect), I pause and wonder if the Universe is trying to tell me something.
Today it was about DECISIONS.
Amy Spencer wrote a fascinating and very uplifting essay on the freedom that making a decision gives us. Rather than bouncing around between ideas of what you could/should/would do, just DO! Amy’s post, TOSS YOUR ERASER, is filled with some very inspiring suggestions for making decisions and the feeling of pride and accomplishment that decision-making will give you. She called it “Today’s little happy life idea” and it is just that. An idea to help make your life a little happier. Amy quotes John W. Gardner’s idea that “Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.” Amy goes on to add, “No, you don’t have an eraser, but you have a huge, bright, empty piece of paper in front of you to draw in whatever direction you want to go next.” She also points out that no decisions are permanent. Even the ones written in permanent marker (or tattoos, or marriage certificates, or down payments). “There are few decisions or mistakes in life that can’t be fixed. Sure maybe you end up with a little headache trying to fix it…but weren’t you giving yourself as much of a headache in struggling over the decision in the first place?” Smart advice!
Danielle LaPorte recently wrote about her new DESIRE program. She detailed her decisions to go forward with an idea and how she likes to put it out into the world immediately, while the fire’s still hot. She tells the world her intentions. Makes the statement. Marks her calendar and starts running in the direction of her dreams. Danielle says it’s all about a feeling of urgency. A need to get the word out about an idea, a decision, a move.
We are in an age when we are afforded more opportunities than ever before and we are becoming paralyzed by choices. The opportunity to be, do, experience, learn, create, and succeed is exciting, tempting and exhilarating. It can also be overwhelming. We can begin to feel anxiety over of making the “wrong” choice. What these two smart and inspiring women are saying, the themes that are echoed in their thoughts, is that any decision, if made with conviction and excitement for the possibility of success, is a worthwhile decision. We can’t get anywhere if we are frozen in one spot. The only way we can succeed is by moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other and saying YES to life.
