The Why, What, Where, Who and When of Choices

JT - Our lives are the sum of the total choices we have made

The past few weeks, I have been talking to people about choices and the things we have control over. Subsequently, today I wanted to share some more about the why, what, where, who and when of choices.

Let’s get started…

Why Choices?

Quite simply as Rollo May writes in the Courage to Create –

 “Human freedom involves our capacity to pause between stimulus and response and, in that pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight. The capacity to create ourselves, based upon this freedom, is inseparable from consciousness or self-awareness.” (p.76).

What is a Choice?

A Choice is –

  • “the act of choosing: the act of picking or deciding between two or more possibilities” – Merriam Webster Dictionary
  • “an act or or the possibility of choosing” – Cambridge Dictionary
  • “involves mentally making a decision” – Wikipedia
  • “an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities” – Google

Where Can and/or Do I Make Choices?

Simply – everywhere! Yep, over the years, I have realised choices are made in each moment. When I first started my growth process years ago, I used to think we made choices like the following diagram –

Stimulus Response and Reaction

I now realise we have a choice between the stimulus and the response –

Freedom to Choose

Realising this has made such a difference in my life and I hope it can for you as well. More and more, I have learnt to make choices within the areas of life I have control over.

Who Makes Choices?

Again, simply – everyone! If we go back to the image above, you can see we are given the opportunity many, many times a day to make choices.

When Do We Make Choices?

Mmm – think you may be getting the drift of this! Again – in many places. Some examples of choices we could make during the day –

  • Moving your body – do you move your body each day, even though you have been advised to?
  • Eating nourishing food – do you eat food that helps you feel good and nourishes your body?
  • Connecting with friends and family – do you a variety of people in your circle that you stay connected with?

Over to You…

I hope this post has given you some insight in to the 5W’s of Choices. Over time, I have realised for myself, if I wanted to change my life, I needed to change the choices I was making, which is why I continue to make compassionate choices and live above the line. If you have any questions, please leave any questions or comments below.

If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and opening your heartwhy not join our Toolkit or our accountability cirlcle?

Reference –

May, R. (1994). The Courage to Create. New York, USA: W.W.Norton & Company.

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