The life you are living right now is a direct result of the choices you have made in the past. The reason you sit in a chair at your desk at work today is because you interviewed for that job in the past and were hired. The pet that you love and spoil is the pet you bought from a breeder or rescued from a shelter. You watch TV from the couch in the living room of the house you purchased in the past.
We are constantly making choices throughout our day—everything from what we put in our coffee to what clothes we choose to wear. Most of the time, these choices are unconscious. When you pause for that briefest of moments and consider the choice you are about to make, you take that choice from an unconscious one to a conscious one. In Chapter One of Why Wait: A practical guide to checking off your Bucket List right now!, I encourage you to consciously make choices today that will bring you closer to your goal of checking off your bucket list.
I’d like you to try this experiment for the next few days. Throughout the day, pause and ask yourself, “How does this choice make me feel?” If you feel bad, then your body and mind are telling you that you’re on the wrong path. If you feel good, then you’re on the right path.
And another thing—don’t worry so much about what others think. We tend to label things we like as guilty pleasures. Life is too short to feel guilty about ordering dessert, or wearing a crazy hat just because you love it, or reading a light and fluffy chic lit book simply because you wanted to. If your choices aren’t harming anyone, think less about what other people think and more about doing things that make you happy. In the words of Dolly Parton, “Find out who you are, and do it on purpose.”
So, if everything in your life is a direct result of the choices you have made in the past, decide right now to take the steps necessary to tick off one of your bucket list items. Today is the day. After all…
The past is history,
the future is a mystery,
and this moment is a gift.
That’s why it’s called present.
I wish you all peace!