The Art of Choosing

I recently made the move from beautiful Hawaii all the way across the Pacific Ocean to the also very beautiful Denver. Having moved 12 times in the last 10 years (I know!), moving has gained the reputation of being hard and stressful... however, this move wasn't.

This move was easy, because I chose to have it be easy.

The moment I made the decision to make this move, I also made the decision to let it be easy. This was a choice, and one I had to continue to make every single day.

I chose to give away certain things rather than dealing with selling them.
I chose to donate a majority of household items instead of having a garage sale.
I chose to allow people to help me when it was offered and very much needed.
I chose to transport both cats in cargo instead of worrying about them the entire flight (as any good furry mama would do) if they were in front of me.
I chose to hire the cleaning out instead of fretting, sweating and stressing over it.

In many ways, this was still a stressful move. It's never easy to move, let alone across an ocean and having to completely let go of all your things and begin to amass new items. There were late nights, tears, overwhelm with work and lots of things to do to prepare.

But I made the choice to make this move easy, and it was far, far easier than it would have been had I not made this decision at the get go.

How to make the choice to have life be easy, stress-free and joyful

1) Decide what you value most in your given situation.

If my higher value at the moment had been finances, it would have made more sense for me to sell furniture, hold a garage sale and do the cleaning myself. While the move was expensive enough to begin with, I knew that what I valued most was having this be an easy and stress-free experience.

You have to decide what is a priority for you. Is it joy? Lack of stress? Easy? Fun? Whatever the value, make the choice to have that be your priority.

2) Continue to choose this value daily.

You have to take responsibility and make this choice again and again. Every day, every hour and every single moment that presents you with the opposite of what you want. It's up to you, and only you, to make this choice. No one else will for you... in fact, our society seems to favor, support and expect that most situations in life will be stressful, frustrating and overwhelming. You simply can't leave this choice in the hands of others.

When presented with any situation, choice or experience as you move forward, ask yourself: "How you I make this more [insert value here -- joyful, fun, easy, etc.]?"

3) It's not about perfection -- it's about positivity.

You can't control everything. There will be moments where you're less than joyful, stressed out and frustrated. That's okay. In those moments, recognize that the only thing that's 100 percent in our control at all times is our reaction to the situation at hand.

So things went terribly wrong. How can YOU create a more positive experience that gives you the feelings and results you desire? This might mean taking a bath, treating yourself to your favorite restaurant, calling up your bestie and venting or heading to the local park to lay in the grass and read for an hour.

Take action now!

What's one area or situation in your life where you can make the choice to be happier and more positive? What is the value or driving feeling that you want to create? How will you choose to feel and experience that RIGHT NOW?

Stephenie Zamora is the founder of www.stepheniezamora.com, a full-service, life-purpose development, design and branding boutique. Here she merges the worlds of personal development and branding to help young women build passion-based businesses. Click here to download her free guide, "The Unexpected Trick to Transforming Your Life With ONE Single Question."

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