Surpassing Decision Fatigue
It's not terribly uncommon to be exhausted by having to make decisions . In all aspects of our life what to eat what to wear, how to exercise, career choices and opportunities, what's healthy what's not healthy, what exercise is good for you, spiritual beliefs friendships, entertainment, fashion. The variety of choices is exciting for some . At the same time, it can be overwhelming and exhausting.
When it comes to our self-care and the process of adopting a more mindful healthy and approach to your wellness this can often be a daunting task. Having to navigate what's good for me? What's bad for me? What am I craving? Why am I craving it? Or am I craving this cause it's good for me? Or is this a mindless escape driven craving? What exercise should I do? How far should I push myself? I fall into this rabbit hole of questions often. It’s honestly the very reason why I throw in the towel and give up on my health journey.
During a recent yoga session, the instructor said
“Choose the pose that allows you to breath most deeply.”
I was refreshed by this cue that allowed me to center in myself and make a choice easily based on something nourishing, rather than the typical discourse ping-ponging from guilting my lazy body to overloading myself and pushing past my limit. It gave me effective, self guided benchmark. I started playing with the words to expand and extend its resonance beyond the matt.
“Choose the people that allow you to breathe deeply.”
“Choose places that allow you to breathe deeply.”
“Choose situations that allow you to breathe deeply.”
“Choose food that allows you to breathe deeply.”
I found myself being able to relax and alleviate the pressure of my indecision and settle into the moment wisely. I was no longer plagued by the exhausting line of questioning I usually put myself through. The breath never lies.
A client reminded me you could replace the words “allows you to breathe deeply” with “brings you the most joy” and arrive to a similarly simple and effective guiding light that will shed much of the anxiety and weight of decision fatigue. What other phrases could you use to bring some energy to this process?
