You always have a choice.

You get to choose how you think and respond in every situation.

You always have a choice whether to leave or stay in every situation.

If you choose to stay, then you get to decide how you want to think about it.

This is the most magical tool to use in your life!

But before you can access the power of choice, you must first believe that you have a choice.

You must first believe you can choose your outlook, moment to moment.

When I first heard that I get to choose how I want to think and what I wanted to feel, I loved the idea!

Applying it was an entirely different story.

I really didn't believe I could choose!

I didn't believe I could really tell my brain what I wanted. Instead, I thought I was a victim of my genetics and my personality.

As I continued to work with my life coach and then attend several trainings, it still seemed so out of reach. I would see success in the thoughts I was choosing and then slip back into old painful patterns.

When I stopped thinking I was a victim (which took a lot of work!) and truly embraced that I could choose, then I really took off!

I want to share what it looked like for me because you may be thinking the exact same things as you move along in your journey!

I kept thinking that if I just didn't have my current circumstances it would be easy. I would practice new thoughts and then be frustrated as I couldn't quite believe them. 

Then the cycle of blame started. 

• "If only I didn't have kids!"

• "Well, maybe it would be different if I had a different husband!" 

• "It would be easy if I had a different brain!"

• "If I wasn't a woman, then I wouldn't have to deal with the history of oppression or decades of overcoming having rights that I have in my cells!"

• "If I was only raised in a different environment!"

• "If only I had more people around me who actually understood and supported me!" 

• "Maybe I should have waited longer to get married and have kids."

• "If only I went to college and worked in the real world before being a stay at home mom."

Every one of these stupid thoughts only blocked me from the power I had all along. And as I looked at the people I looked up to, I noticed they all had massive amounts of success and way worse pasts than mine.

What I found is that every successful person has their own story, past, and circumstance that was not in favor of their current success and happiness.

NEVER! But there was one tiny difference.

They believed they had the power to choose and direct their lives.

That is it.

But after some time of needless suffering and struggle, I learned from my coach I could let my brain freak out and roll on the floor in a tantrum.

I could watch and observe and then choose an entirely different response and thought.

Moment to moment, day to day, week to week, and then...

Voilà!!!

I was finally someone who didn't think like that anymore!!!

"This is what this means!!!" I thought.

I really do get to choose!

I get to choose and commit and practice.

What I had to give up was instant gratification.

Be careful if you expect results overnight without the commitment and practice.

The only question is how bad do you want it? How bad do you want your new result?

All you need is the belief that you can choose, and then the discipline to commit and practice.

See! It's easy.