As always I want to state right up front that the ideas and opinions expressed in this post are mine — and only mine — and represent my own experiences and beliefs as I perceive them. That being said, I extend a hearty, “welcome aboard,” and assume you have been keeping joyful and excited in anticipation of taking another step toward our glorious destination, which is, a life filled with vibrant health and happiness.

The Power of Decision

Today we’re going to begin with what may seem to be a contradiction. I say this because even though I’m a firm believer in the power of our thoughts, in this post we’re going to take a look at another power, i.e., the power of decision. And I’m going to say that in one sense I believe it to be the only power we have left in this physical world. And that’s where we may seemingly run into a contradiction; for how can I express a firm belief in the power of thought, and then say the power of decision is the only power we have left?

Well it’s not really that complicated; the only complication may lie in my ability, or inability, to clarify that which seems to be a paradox. Let’s look at it this way; for lack of a better example, let’s say the power of our thoughts is the building material which is always available in unlimited abundance and is utilized continuously as we go about creating our life experiences. This is where the power of decision needs to enter, but before it can do so, we have to become consciously aware of it. Once we do, we can use it to control the power of our thoughts. Therefore, it’s my opinion, that in this sense, it’s the only real power we have left.

Whether we’re aware of it, or not, except when we’re sleeping, we’re utilizing the power of decision every moment of our lives. Even though most decisions are made unconsciously everything we do or say still springs forth from this one power. That’s because it’s impossible for us to act unless we first make the decision to do so – there are no exceptions to this.

As soon as we awake in the morning we’re faced with decision making. Among the first decisions we must make is this one; should we arise from our warm and comfortable haven and face the day, or should we yawn, stretch, and roll over and go back to sleep. Now I understand that this may seem like a trivial example, but if it’s examined closely it can also be seen as a prime reason as to why this is called the “power” of decision.

I suppose we could say that when we awake this decision has already been made for most of us, especially if it’s a work day, a school day, or there’s some other pressing reason why we need to get up. And I would agree with that. But the point I want to make is this; if we really wanted to, and used the power we have, and made the decision to roll over and go back to sleep, we could do it, regardless of any reasons why we shouldn’t. I don’t think anyone can dispute this; if we made the decision to do it, we could do it – that’s the impressive power of decision.

As mentioned above, most decisions are made unconsciously; these are the ones that we keep making over and over as we go about our daily chores. In other words, we don’t have to stop and think about whether we should, or shouldn’t, do it. These decisions are not only made unconsciously but, it seems as if they’re also made automatically. That’s because of the fascinating power of our minds, which, it seems, are able to take over and make these repetitive decisions for us without our awareness. Even so, whether they’re made with, or without, our seeming awareness, they’re still decisions that are being made by us.

Again, as already mentioned, it’s my firm belief that our thoughts contain power, and now this question may arise; why is he talking about the power of decision, and then change to the power of thoughts? And the answer is, I also believe it’s imperative that we understand that through the power of decision we’re using the power of our thoughts continuously, whether we’re aware of it, or not. In other words, the power that’s inherent within our thoughts will provide us with either negative or positive results according to the decisions we make as we carry on with our daily lives.

A Hypothetical Scenario

To better understand more about the power of decision we’re going to take a look at a very short hypothetical story; it may not be the most joyful little story, but if it’s perceived correctly it doesn’t need to be a sad one either. But either way, in order to answer some questions, I believe, it’s necessary to let it play out as you perceive it. In our little story, we’ll create a scenario where one – it doesn’t matter which one – of a person’s parents has passed away with a serious illness. It doesn’t matter in the least what we call this person, so we’ll keep it simple and say he’s a male called, “Pod” – which is an acronym derived from the first letter of each of the three words, power of decision.

For the duration of our little story we’re going to assume that Pod, being a normal member of society, has been influenced to wonder about all the prevailing medical doctrines, which, the news media and well-meaning friends have been insisting on being the truth. This “truth” being; incurable illnesses are hereditary, and therefore, are passed on from one generation to the next. As we introduce Pod it’s important to keep in mind that he has just witnessed the onset of what is believed by most of society, to be an incurable illness, and the subsequent degrading of the quality of life experiences, and finally the passing of one of his parents.

After the emotional experience of grieving that the passing has caused is accepted and the mourning period has diminished, the next emotional feeling this experience will bring about for Pod is that of vulnerability, which, always springs from the emotion of fear. And this is because, in all probability, he has been influenced by well-meaning friends and others, to fear the likelihood of this illness being passed on to the next generation. Because of this his mental activity begins to turn effortlessly to serious thinking, which now begins to dwell upon this idea until he believes it to be the “truth” for him.

It’s my belief however, that beliefs are no more than a train of thought that we hold onto until it becomes true for us. In order for this to become true for him, Pod will have to use his power of decision, and whether consciously, or unconsciously, decide to think about the possibility that it could be the case. He has no choice as to whether he’ll use this power. For no one can believe anything without first thinking about it until they believe it to be the truth – no matter what the subject may be.

And the thing is he can just as easily use the same power and make the decision to think otherwise; that this scenario may not be the truth. That’s the beautiful thing about this power — we are free to use it for our benefit if we make the decision to do so.

Once the possibility of this illness being passed on to the next generation becomes the truth for Pod, however, he’s in serious trouble. For now the emotion of fear rears its ugly head and takes control of his thoughts and begins to focus them like a laser onto that which he now believes to be the truth. And unless, he somehow lets go of this belief and takes back control of, and begins to change his thoughts, he will, almost certainly, attract to himself the very thing he fears — which is the same illness his parent passed away with.

Earl Nightingale

In closing, I’m going to leave you with some words to ponder by Earl Nightingale. He was, among other things, an American writer, who has been called, “The Dean of Personal Development.” He said, “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality. “

As always, eat healthy, get some exercise, allow yourself to be happy, make the right decisions, keep your thoughts positive as much as possible – and may God richly Bless you.