The Choicepoint

Twice this week I read something about what Robin Sharma calls the choicepoint and  both times I stopped and thought hmmm.  I remember several choicepoints in my life.

A choicepoint is that time in your life where you have to make a choice to change or to remain where you are, in that current place where maybe you are feeling unfulfilled, perhaps unhappy or maybe  just comfortable, yet you feel pulled towards something better.

Staying as you are is oh so safe, you have friends, you know what to expect, you are comfortable. But will you really be satisfied, didn't you feel at some point a calling towards something else, that you were too afraid to follow ?

Fear of change is one of the greatest fears we have, in fact its the reason so many people stay caught up in bad situations, like alcoholism or abusive marriages. There is some sort of safely there. If I change what will I become ? 

Years ago I was at a sales conference and heard this story, it is one of my favorite stories to tell.

Three men were held captive by an evil dictator. They faced a firing squad. Before each man was shot he was given the choice, death by firing squad or the green door. Each man looked nervously at the green door and the fear of what was behind that green door was so great, that they chose death by the firing squad. What the men didn't know was,  that,  behind that green door was freedom.

Sometimes it takes great courage to choose freedom

I think about how painful some of my choicepoints were; they involved stepping away from friends, careers, a marriage, habits, and ways of thinking that were so ingrained in me it was like pulling a deep root from my very being. Never have I made a change that didn't terrify me.

In my 30's I made several huge changes, I changed some horrible habits (smoking being one of them), I left a marriage that no one knew was unhappy. Leaving a marriage was one of the hardest things I ever did, my "fear meter" was so high, I would lie in bed sleepless, worrying about this lonely tomorrow that of course never came.  Its so true what spiritual guides say, most of our fears never come true. Fears are like demons that keep us in this prison of our mind stuff.

In my 40's I made career changes, major changes that scared the "shit" out of me, but I knew that I was meant to teach yoga, I just knew it. So I went after my dream and created my new reality one day at a time. My new reality has been hard work.

I believe that happiness is our right, we are meant to be happy. Truly free and happy, I have never bought into the Vedic yogic notion that life is suffering. Bullshit I say. Life is amazing, you can be happy or unhappy but that is your decision.

Last night I was running with my dog Muggins, it was a clear night and we were both so happy, at one point I stopped running just to hug her. She tried to lick my face and wagged her tail. She too was so happy. 

Again I feel I am on the edge of a choicepoint in my life, I have a great life but I know that I have something more to do, as I prepare to make that change, I again feel fear. But I will reflect on past choicepoints and know that change for me has always been a good thing.

I encourage you to not be afraid to change, to take that leap to the next place in your life, step away from the crowd and follow your heart. 

I always think of this saying I heard one day "the majority is almost always wrong". So whenever I am thinking about things I wonder what the majority thinks, and then I investigate other points of view. Only then do I make up my mind, knowing that with more information I may have to change it.Staying with the majority is safe but does it serve your souls purpose ?