The average person makes an estimated 35,000 decisions or choices every day. Compounded by the approximately 34 Gigabytes of information that we are exposed to on a daily basis (and not all of it is positive) it is no wonder why many of us feel overwhelmed, exhausted and stressed. That is a lot coming at us! Luckily, we are equipped with a filtering system known as the Reticular Activating System or RAS, which acts as a gatekeeper to help filter out sensory stimuli and prioritize what gets our immediate attention, what gets sent to the background, and what gets ignored.
Perhaps one of the most important choices we can make every day is determining how we show up for ourselves and for others. In the constant daily barrage of decision-making and information overload, we have the opportunity to carefully choose the words and deeds we put out into the world. In a moment of frustration or stress (they happen), we can choose to be reactive, irritable, and unkind, or we can choose to respond with patience, kindness and compassion. Easier said than done.
So how do we choose better?
Setting a daily intention is a way to fine-tune or calibrate our RAS to invite more positive interactions and outcomes and filter out the negative. In a previous post, What's Your Signature Color, I shared the Map of Consciousness that illustrates that when we are choosing to show up as the best version of ourselves, we can counterbalance so much negativity in the world. That's a beautiful thing. Like everything we do, and as described by the butterfly effect, how we choose to show up matters.
Ryan Estis shares an entertaining 6 1/2 minute video entitled Pouring Happiness that further demonstrates the importance and impact of how we choose to show up. I recommend watching it, sharing it, and using it as a reminder how this all works together. Maybe even watch it on a Monday morning.
Thank you for choosing to show up here today. Have a great week!
A shout out of thanks to my friend and former colleague, Dr. Joel Hoomans for his insightful article, 35,000 Decisions: The Great Choices of Strategic Leaders.
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