Everyday Decisions

The future is full of uncertainty. The unknown blurs our outlook, making it difficult to know how life will unfold. When we don't know what will happen next, we may experience a range of reactions. Sometimes, we view uncertainty as an adventure. In other moments, we fear what we do not know.

Everyone experiences fear. When we are afraid, this emotion may influence how we behave. Fear narrows our minds, causing it to focus on what could go wrong. Fixating on unfortunate outcomes may intensify when life feels uncertain.

Since uncertainty can feel scary, we might attempt to avoid it. Avoidance looks different for everyone. Some of us may disassociate from our physical worlds, going down extensive online rabbit holes. Others may work compulsively, avoiding reality through constant busyness. We all have avoidance strategies.

To cope with uncertainty, you may have developed habits that help you take a break. However, when we spend an excessive amount of time avoiding challenges, new issues can grow out of proportion.

So, how do we deal with uncertainty? Since unhealthy coping strategies can create preventable issues, we can choose to take constructive actions instead. To begin making helpful choices, you can select new behaviors proactively.

To learn how to work with uncertainty instead of fighting against reality, you can use a simple tool: the Choice Point.

The Choice Point is a tool used in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Popularized by Russ Harris, a psychotherapist and educator, the Choice Point helps people take constructive actions. Learning the Choice Point can help you take steps that reflect what matters to you, even if life feels uncertain.

There is a difference between automatically reacting to a challenge and choosing how you would like to respond. When a perceived difficulty happens, it's common to have an initial emotional reaction. Instead of jumping to an automatic reaction, you can learn how to use the Choice Point to take actions that help you show up as the person you want to be.

The version of the Choice Point in this course includes five parts. By grasping each part, you will understand this useful tool.

When you embrace where you are, you enter the present moment. The present offers a direct connection to reality. However, thoughts, emotions, and perceptions may create a distance between our actions and what is happening.

Reality rarely reflects the images and videos people post on their social media accounts. In addition to this messaging, we often hold ideas of how life "should" look. Then, we take this ideal alternate version of life and compare it to our current circumstances.

The distance between where we want to be and where we are can cause a range of thoughts and emotions. For example, if we believe we fall short of our ideal lives, we may experience disappointment, frustration, or anxiety. To avoid discomfort, we may replay past events or fantasize about the future.

Thoughts of the past and future may influence how we behave. Instead of responding to immediate circumstances, we might react to our thoughts, memories, and emotions. However, if our attention drifts from the present, we can bring it back to what is happening now.

We gain power by connecting to reality. To make effective choices, you need to be aware of your present circumstances. Becoming aware of the present moment is the first step to responding to life as it is.

By expanding your awareness of the present, you can connect to the bigger picture. Instead of slipping into mental images and sensations, you can experience the newness of each moment.

Since the present follows you wherever you are, we will call it "your location."