Decisions and Choices

Webster’s Dictionary Definitions:
Choice: “the act or opportunity of choosing or the thing chosen” “Choice suggests the opportunity or privilege of choosing freely”.
Decision: “A determination arrived at after consideration”.

I really never gave much thought about the differences between choice and decision until I started writing this. It gave me pause to think (uh oh!). You make your choice after deciding upon something. I like the use of the word “opportunity” in the definition of choice.

“The road to better health is paved with the small decisions we make every day.” Tara Parker –Pope, New York Times

Do you realize first, how lucky we are at the choices we do have because we live in this country? I am not going to wave flags or anything, but think about it. We can go grocery shopping and well, just look at the cereal aisle in a supermarket. Three shelves of cereals (or maybe it is four, I have to pay better attention), the selection runs from the front of the store to the back of the store. Top to bottom. Anything from healthy, whole grains to sugar shock, hot or cold, small boxes, large boxes, premium brand to store brand, super expensive to somewhat affordable. We have our choice of coffee, flavored coffees, flavored coffee creamers, plain coffee, whole bean, ground bean, fine ground or course ground, dark roast or breakfast roast, de-caffeinated. Milk, have you ever looked at the milk selection? Whole milk, 2%, 1%, skim milk, chocolate milk, half and half, soy milk, flavored soy milk, almond milk. I could go on and on but you probably get where I am going. No wonder I can’t stand grocery shopping and stick to my list, get in and get out.

We all have choices. I am quite fond of saying that even making no decision is a choice. But remember, you have to live with the fact that the window of opportunity may have gone by and you chose to do nothing or even worse, someone else makes the decision for you. I don’t like that unless I am prepared to live with someone else thinking they know me that well to make a decision for me, not so much.

I recently took a defensive driving class offered by the State. We learned from a video that for every two miles a person drives, they make about 400 observations, and that those 400 observations result in about 40 decisions. It then said that even if the driver is paying attention, one of those 40 decisions is a mistake. While most of those mistakes are minor and don't result in a crash, any one of them could be dangerous in the wrong circumstances. They then said that when you are distracted, the number of mistakes goes way up, they didn't give a number.

This all makes me wonder about how this flows into our daily life outside of the car, especially when grocery shopping or to exercise or how ‘bout restaurant menus and how we can easily get derailed with those tantalizing, tempting tidbits of fatty or sugary foods. Some people get overwhelmed by too many choices and will grab an item without really paying attention.

In Lifestyle Balance you are taught to read labels. This may well be a new experience for you and yes, it can be overwhelming at the beginning. How many labels must you read before making the decision to choose the low-sodium store brand diced tomatoes? I have trained my eyes to zero in on the fat content, I look for trans fats and I also look for high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients. Those are my three purchase guidelines. Low fat and no high fructose corn syrup if I can avoid it. To make your life easy, set your own label rules to live by. You will also know what brands you like and which ones to avoid. I finally found a brand of yogurt I like that has no high fructose corn syrup.

How do you do your shopping? Go with a list of specific items and stick to it? Do you go with perhaps an idea of what you need? Do you wing it and just roam up and down the aisles and look for things to see if you need them? Do you plan your weekly or monthly meal menu and buy what you will need to plan your meals? We are all different and what works for one person may not work for you. Keeping this in mind, how do you feel when you are shopping this way? If you find your anxiety rising, perhaps it is time to change how you do your shopping. Go with a list if roaming the aisles is too much to handle. Using a list also helps you stick to your budget and keep you from buying impulse items, since the list may not take you down a particular food aisle. I get overwhelmed when there is too much to choose, sensory overload.

Decision making can be a stressful situation, even when what you are deciding on is fun. If you have issues with making decisions, here are some ideas for you to digest. Source: http://www.stressdirections.com/tools/tools_cognitive.html#Decision%20Making%20Skills

· Identify what decision needs to be made. If it is a big decision then think things through and think of the impact on yourself and others. Try the old Ben Franklin list, a list of pros and cons.
· Gather information you will need. Making an informed decision is empowering. Why, just this morning our refrigerator freezer decided to go on the fritz. I had already been doing research to purchase a new fridge so don’t feel as freaked out as I might be going in with no information.
· Options. I like options. I like having a plan A, B and possibly plan C. Sometimes what you think is the best decision turns out to play a second when compared to other ideas.
· Once you make up your mind, act on it. Be open to compromise if your first choice is not available to you.

Smart Choices and Healthy Lifestyles

· Get out and walk. Move. Ride a bike, dance, swim, or? You fill in the blank for what you enjoy doing.
· Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies daily. Don’t get overwhelmed, sometimes a large apple is the equivalent of 2 servings. You may reach a point where a fresh peach sounds much better than a piece of cake.
· Buckle up when in a car. Wear your seat belt.
· Quit smoking. Don’t smoke? Don’t start. Need help? Montana Quitline 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
· Avoid secondhand smoke.
· Wear sunscreen.
· Reduce the fat in your diet. Read food labels. Avoid saturated fats and trans fats.
· Eat fish at least twice a week.
· Have kids or grandkids? Be a role model for them to establish healthy habits.

This was from an e-mail I received recently at home.
'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

Friends, as I write this, I am choosing to be in a good mood. The fridge that was supposed to be delivered today is damaged and that was the last one in the store. The next won’t be in for maybe 2 weeks. I choose to be happy, I choose to be happy…

A little humor

Q: Is it common for senior citizens to have problems with short term memory storage?

A: Storing memory is not a problem, retrieving it is a problem.