I like to think that I’m pretty progressive. I also like to think that I know a lot yet there’s so much more to learn.

I’ve been on a HUGE personal growth trajectory over the past few years and it’s actually quite incredible when I think about it..

What I want to share with you guys today is a bit about my thinking now vs a few years ago.

A few years ago I was surrounded by people who were quite negative., Aggressive and even though some of these people professed to have their hearts in the right place, the very second that things weren’t going along the way that they thought things SHOULD be progressing, things got progressively more passive aggressive, negative and it was a whole shit storm of bad vibes.

It knocked me for a six. It completely derailed me. In fact, I think it took a good year to really ‘recover’ from the self inflicted trauma of it all.

AND THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO.

The SELF-INFLICTED TRAUMA part.

One of the BIGGEST, most profound lessons I’ve learned over the past few years is that EVERYTHING, like literally EVERY.THING. that we experience is a result of our own choices.

How we FEEL is a choice. How we REACT is a choice. How we THINK is a choice. How we COMMUNICATE is a choice.

EVERYTHING IS A CHOICE.

And in a split second you can shift your choices.

Some of you know a bit about my history, and the very Cliffss-notes version of it is this: Fell in love at 16 with a guy who I thought was awesome and perfect in every way. He broke up with me on the eve of my 19^th birthday. I then started seeing one of his friends who was physically and mentally abusive. Finally ‘got out’ after 4.5 years. Met my now-husband. Went through some pretty huge stuff with him and his family. My husband and our kids now live ‘happily ever after’.

Hahahaa!!! How’s that for a 20+ year summary!?!?!??

Anyway, my point is this. When faced with the FACT that I CHOSE to stay in a toxic relationship for 4.5 years…. When faced with the FACT that I CHOSE to be treated that way…when faced with the FACT that I CHOSE heartbreak, that I CHOSE chaos, that I CHOSE to ‘settle’, that I CHOSE to be a part of the negativity loop…

I got angry.

Like really angry.

I did NOT choose bloody anything, thank you very much!

And then when I thought about it more, I realised, that well, actually Nic… YES YOU DID.

We make our choices either consciously or unconsciously. EVERYTHING that you’re experiencing right now is CHOICE.

This really hit home tome towards the end of 2015. I was waking up tired every day. I was frustrated because things that year hadn’t really gone the way that I wanted them to. I was stuck. I was annoyed. I was grumpy. I was still showing up. I was delivering to client. That part was all GREAT, yet, things weren’t moving fast enough for me. HELLO IMPATIENCE!!!!

One morning we were getting ready to go for our daily morning family walk and I heard a voice in my head, it was my voice, though… say “NICOLA, YOU CAN CHOOSE HOW YOU FEEL” and in that EXACT moment I said WELL. I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY AND FULL OF ENERGY.

Now, this was a 6.30am walk, so the ‘full of energy’ part was going to take a bit more convincing, but the HAPPY PART… as soon as I CONSCIOUSLY CHOSE that, EVERYTHING CHANGED!

My shoulders pulled back. My step was lighter. I was FEELING happy. I started laughing at something. Of course, Dom and I talked about it, because we jibber jabber for our whole walk about everything and nothing, and we were talking about the power of CHOICES.

So for me, there are days when I am the polar opposite of feeling happy. And there can be some times where I might sit in this for a while…. AND THEN, it’s like snapping a rubber band that’s around your wrist to catch your attention, I say I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY and everything shifts again.

I know it’s probably not very profound and certainly not ‘Dalai Lama’ level of enlightenment, however, for me, it’s seriously changed EVERYTHING!

YOU have the power to CHOOSE everything that you’re experiencing.

You have the power to MAKE A DIFFERENT CHOICE in every single moment.

You have the ABILITY to BE doing whatever it is that you want to be doing.

If things aren’t working for you right now, take a think about your CHOICES and how you’re CHOOSING TO THINK! (confused much?!)

EVERYTHING comes back to what you choose. Every moment. Every feeling. EVERYTHING.

Take a look at what you’re CHOOSING to fill your mind with.

Take a think about what you’re CHOOSING to watch on tv.

What are you CHOOSING to have coming through your newsfeed.

What emails are you letting into your inbox?

Everything impacts and effects everything, so CHOOSE wisely!

Nic X

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