Freedom of Choice

Ever since I started running every day, I noticed that my running time is also my best thinking time - time when I can let my brain run free as well. Often the thoughts I have while running are things that I want to write about in this blog.

Today I was thinking about choice. We all make choices, each and every moment of our existence. Some choices are good, while others are not so good - or even disastrous. But I believe the important thing is to realize that you are making the choices - you are not powerless.

Making choices can be tough. It is not always easy to do what needs to be done, to make the first good choice in a chain of good choices that will lead to a good outcome. But the opposite - the first bad choice in the chain of bad choices that will lead to disaster - well, we often fall into that first bad choice without seeing the path of destruction that will ensue.

I was thinking about how many people get to a point where they say, "I have no choice!" And maybe they don't - now - because the choices they made earlier have led them to this dead-end. Even then, it's never final - the story is never over until the last chapter is written and the book slammed shut - but wouldn't it be easier to keep your eyes open and make conscious decisions in the first place rather than try to fix the mistakes later?

I'm not trying to make this blog all preachy - if I'm preaching to anyone, I suppose it is myself. My story is not over yet, not by a long shot, but I know people who believe that change is impossible once we get to a certain age. I don't believe that is true, and I suppose that part of my writing this blog has to do with wanting to witness that change.

About 5 months ago, I quit smoking and started trying to eat better and exercise more. The exercise and the quitting smoking are a symbiotic pair - they feed into one another. If I smoked, exercise would be more difficult, and conversely, exercise makes me relaxed and focused, which causes me not to need the cigarettes anymore.

I'm as surprised as anyone else that I have been able to quit cold turkey and never look back, and I really think the key has been exercise. Exercise, combined with healthier eating, has stabilized my mood to a point where nicotine would feel more like a poison than a tonic.

Now I do sound preachy - and so I will hop off my soap box and leave it until another day. Tomorrow, that is, since I have a goal of writing in this blog each and every day for the entire year of 2010.

Make good choices!