Healthy Living DIY

Let's say you have a certain "friend." He's a 50-year old man who's been working for the last 25 years in a job that involves heavy lifting. Now he's got chronic back problems.

What would you advise that "friend" to do? It's pretty clear that all that heavy lifting has taken a toll on his back. To an outsider, it might look like the obvious solution is to get a different job.

But what if that "friend" was you? You've still got kids in school and had been planning to continue with your current employer for another 12 years. If you leave this job, you'll lose your senority and maybe jeopardize your retirement plans. Plus, you like the job. It's what you're trained to do. And you're not sure of your other options.

How did Robert Frost, in this well-known poem, decide which road to take? If it had been a different road, if the day had been rainy, if a loved one was waiting at the end of the well-worn path, would he have made the same choice?

Simply put, how do you tell the difference? When is enough enough? When do you stick it out and make your original situation work, say through a new approach or a more consistent effort... When do you choose to take the other road?

One way to resolve this dilemma is to simply do nothing. Eventually, your situation will deteriorate to the point where you have no choice to react to the crisis, and the decision will have been made for you. That's the reactive method, which is seldom the path of power.

A more pro-active approach might go something like this.

Sit down and make a list of ten or twelve possible solutions available to a person in your situation. Not you, necessarily, but a "friend."

Then, re-insert yourself into the situation. Remove any "deal-brakers" from the list. Options that clearly conflict with your values -- like, say, robbing a bank.

From the remaining list, systematically pair all the options into sets of two. Ask yourself, "which is better, 'A' or 'B'?" At this point, some people go with their "gut hunch." If you find visualization valuable, you might close your eyes and briefly picture the expected outcomes. If you're a "pro and con list" kind of person, jot down a few notes.

Systematically continue to pit the "winners" of your first round against one another until you've narrowed it down to the final two choices. At this point, your best course of action may already be obvious.

If not, breathe. Close your eyes. And imagine yourself walking down the the path toward your first choice. Engage all your 5 senses as you explore the surroundings on your imagined walk. As you arrive at your destination, sense the mood. Is everyone happy? Is the scene brightly lit? Does it feel, sound, taste, look, and smell like a place you'd like to hang around for a while?

Then do the same with your second option. Do the same kind of 5-sense evaluation. Open your eyes and jot down some notes about your experiences. Do you have your answer? Probably. If not, remain open and alert. Something may just "pop" into your life to confirm your choice.

Readers: Have you had experience making a choice like this? How did you know which road to take? How did things turn out? Leave your comments here on the Healthy Living blog!