The Under-appreciated Power of Deciding

I learned something new yesterday. Something powerful. Want to know what it was? . . . Good!

We’ve all made decisions all our lives. But I never understood what it really means to decide. Now I do, and I have a new appreciation for the amazing power of making a decision.

The word “decide” comes from the Latin word, “decidere” which literally means “to cut off.”

How does “to cut off” relate to making decisions?

Every time we make a decision to do something, we are “cutting off” all the other possibilities. It takes us out of the mooshy, uncomfortable, and nonproductive place of indecision. We now have one choice clearly in front of us, and this allows us to take action.

Just think about how powerful this is!

Suppose you’re looking at a list of all the movies that are showing tonight. You can’t decide what to do. You read all the reviews, you ask your friends. You hem and haw. And if you take too long to decide, you may miss the opportunity to go to ANY movie tonight. It feels frustrating.

But when you DECIDE which movie to see, you have cut off all the other possibilities and now you can make specific plans. You actually feel relieved about making the decision because it now allows you to take action. Get your jacket on — you’re going to the movie!

This is a pretty inconsequential decision, but it allows you to see how deciding empowers you by cutting away the clutter of all the other possibilities. And NOT deciding keeps you in the feeling of confusion and frustration.

I made a decision that transformed my life 37 years ago. I decided to EAT FOR HEALTH and trust that my body would find it’s own healthy weight. This was a huge decision for me because, like many young women, I wanted to be thin and I chose my food based on whatever I thought would work to get me there. The result was that I made myself very sick by eating unhealthfully.

When I decided to eat for health, I cut off all the other possibilities. This single decision has simplified my life and guided me clearly in deciding what to eat and what not to eat.

No, I’m not perfect. Not every bite I put in my mouth is the healthiest. But my overall diet has improved year after year, as I’ve learned more about nutrition — all because of that single, powerful decision I made 37 years ago. And of course, the better I eat, the better my health is, and my weight is simply a non-issue. Who knew? ? ?

About 10 years ago I decided it was a priority to help others make these same healthy food choices because I knew first-hand how powerfully it would change their lives. The results of that decision keep morphing into new ways to provide that help, which keeps it exciting!

In addition to providing coaching and online courses,
I’ll also teach local nutrition and cooking classes.

I know that YOU have made decisions that have transformed your life, too.
I’d love it if you’d share one of those decisions in the comments section below.
And please share how it simplified or empowered your life!