The Practice of Choosing Well

If National Blog Posting Month has taught me anything, it's something I already knew: Being intentional can be very hard work.

I've recently made changes in my life so that I can live more fully, be more aware of who I am and what I want and pursue those things diligently. The weird thing is that sometimes it's hard to do the things we want to do, not because other commitments get in the way, but because we get in our own way.

How much time can I waste mindlessly surfing the Internet or watching bad TV instead of reading quality online content or watching a really good movie? How much crappy convenience food can I eat because I didn't take the time to go shopping or plan my meals, even though I love the grocery store and like to cook? How many books can I not read because I'm too busy looking through catalogues for stuff I don't need and won't buy? A lot, that's how much.

It's easy to forget what we like to do and how we want to spend our time. And when we remember, sometimes it's still easier to do the lame, lazy thing than to be intentional and focused. It should be easy to choose the things we love, but even that takes practice.