Hello and Happy Thursday!
Last evening I had the most amazing dinner with my family and a very good friend. She is truly inspirational and a very good-hearted, beautiful person. Inside and out. Our conversation was really great and le husband and I kept talking about it for quite some time after she and her father left. How great it is if a person is so full of passion, made the right decisions at the right time and follows her heart with such a determination that it kept us speechless at points. There are not many people who know at a very young age what they want to become later on in life. Of course, you ask a little child about his dream job, they will tell you most likely police officer, nurse, astronaut and whatnot and it will change the next day. Not with my friend. She knew and she still follows this path. Amazing. We both wish her all the luck and love in the world and gladly help her along her journey if she needs assistance in any way.
So I thought about my life and the decisions I have taken. I tried to think about all the major decisions I made, passions I followed, goals I achieved and worked on until something worked out the way I wanted it to. Life is strange sometimes and will throw curveballs at you, just to make it all interesting, challenging and fun. And if one door closes, another one will open. You just have to see it and keep in mind that the path might be blurry sometimes. All the decisions I have made, good or bad, lead me to this amazing life I am living now. I do not regret one single action or step I have taken. I would not have rushed to work that one morning because I was late, lost my scarf while running and le husband picked it up.
I am a pretty decisive person and know what I want. Most of the time, that is. Some days, I look at the menu in a restaurant and cannot decide if I want a coffee or tea and it will take forever until I made a decision. Weird, I know. I just don’t want to make a poor choice I guess but when realistically looking at it, of course some decisions will in hindsight not be that great.
Le husband showed me that it is important to consider long-term goals when making decisions. If I do such and such, it might lead me down the wrong path. At the same time thinking about backup plan A, B and C – just in case is important. In a way it is like if I want to lose a couple of pounds and I stand in front of a huge buffet and I decide what I will eat. Is is going to be an omelette with veggies or a plate of bacon and fries? Cake or an apple, right? I just strive to find the optimal most adequate solution that is out there. And if it takes me some time to figure it out, it is all okay. Writing lists, pro and cons and all the good stuff.
Usually, whenever it comes to decision-making I listen to my stomach rather than my brain. I think it is important to trust my gut; then again, I had to figure out who I am first and love myself 100% to get to this stage. This way it is easier to actually pay close attention to what is going on inside me. The decision to quit my job as a police officer in Germany was a major decision I have taken but I never regretted it because it felt right in my gut. I knew, this was the right thing to do. Let’s see what the future brings with my new adventures. Also, it is helpful for me to simplify my life in a way so I won’t have additional decisions to make that complicate my life. Doesn’t the decision making already start in the morning when we stand in front of our closet and try to decide what to wear? I made the decision to own less clothing to not have this “problem” every day. This way I can focus on more important things. Remember Steve Jobs? Have you ever seen him in something other than jeans and black turtleneck? The decision-making ability is finite and he focused more on creating awesome Apple products. Yay!
For me, it is important to be in the right state of mind when it comes to decision-making. I made many bad decisions while being angry, drunk, upset about something or frustrated. I was lucky so far, but those decisions were some of the worst ones in my life. Luckily, nothing major happened to me or my beloved family. I live and learn. Cooling off first, taking a step back and breathing deeply usually helps me calm down and find this gut-connection again.
Le husband laughs and says at this point: “Okay, then listen to your gut when it comes to decision-making about your shoes. Will we be walking a lot? Hiking? Your gut tells you, wear those sneakers and not TOMS, eh.” [But wait, those beige Converse are cute with my black jeans when we climb up Mont Blanc!] “Hat or no hat? Sunscreen or no sunscreen when we are at the beach for the first time at noon?” Hey, I am not perfect. Nobody is. I won’t overthink anything because some decisions are simply not that difficult to make. Wait, my gut tells me to get a slice of cake now.
Thank you for reading my blog.
