In our uncertain world, we can feel overwhelmed by the complexity of rapid changes and choices. When we feel committed to the upward spiral of well-being, we can make better choices, build our resilience, and uplift the well-being of others.
Here are three strategies with real-life examples from my personal experiences of choice points that helped build my inner resilience. Small choices can create a big impact on your well-being.
1. Consciously Transform Negative Emotions
One morning, I woke up in a crabby mood. That happens to everyone, right? On that morning, I felt whiny and grumpy about everything as I focused on all the crap that was not working in my life. I was stuck in a downward spiral of swirling negative emotion. The snow annoyed me. Everything felt hopeless.
I stood holding a warm cup of tea, watching the snowfall. I noticed the lights reflected in the windowpane. I thought they looked pretty. Then, I noticed the snow looked pretty. Then, I noticed my warm cup felt good on my hands. I noticed my breath.
The next instant, I noticed I had a choice. A thought came to me: I can step out of this negative energy pattern.
Standing in my dining room, holding the warm cup of tea, I physically took a giant step across the floor. I imagined I was stepping up and out of a lower vibration into another higher vibration.
And then my mood shifted. I was back to my positive vibration. Just with a choice! Shift happens!
Weird! I thought. I have to bottle this! Stepping up and out of a vibration got me out of swirling negativity.
What’s a time you noticed your thoughts didn’t serve your well-being
and you consciously chose another thought?
2. Reverse Engineer Your Well-being
In my chapter of the Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care Vol. 3: 25 Tools to Achieve Anything, I reverse engineered how I chose well-being when birthing my first baby.
Try these three steps to envision yourself successfully holding the metaphorical baby of your goal.
- Visioning Your Highest Self
Standing right here, right now in this circumstance, step forward to the highest and best version of yourself. Become the person who has already accomplished the goal. By starting from the perspective of your highest and best self, you’re creating a mental leap forward. You’re anchoring the intention of well-being and wholeness, even if circumstances feel challenging. From this higher self, you’re not just setting a goal. You’re embodying the vibration of the goal in its fullest, most authentic form. You’re choosing the feeling of well-being as something already within reach, almost like remembering rather than creating something entirely new. - Connecting with Embodied Wisdom
Tap into your embodied wisdom and ask the highest version of yourself about the attitudes and actions you need to reach your goal. This question helps bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Your well-being is accessible in small, present-moment choices. You’re not just asking what it will take to reach your goal. You’re connecting to the part of yourself that resonates with your deepest intentions. - Listening for Inner Guidance
Deep listening is about tuning into subtle signals. Your body, breath, and emotions can guide you toward well-being. Often, the answers lie in subtle shifts rather than grand gestures. Trusting your intuition allows you to align with well-being as a process rather than a destination. You’re creating a flow that naturally moves you closer to your goal with each small, intentional choice.
Reverse engineering well-being in this way isn’t about problem-solving from the outside in but aligning from the inside out. Allow your inner guidance to inform each action and each mindset. It’s a beautiful, holistic approach!
How would you feel if you achieved the goal you want to master?
Where in your body would you feel the satisfaction of completion?
You can listen to my Chapter Reading of Listen to Your Body Wisdom: Transform Energy Blockages Through Movement to hear the rest of the story. Readers of my chapter have told me that listening to my audio version gave more meaning to the story than reading it themselves. Click here for the audio version of the chapter. Listen to Your Body Wisdom: Transform Energy Blockages Through Movement
Sometimes, life happens, obstacles show up on your path to success, and you get to choose how to respond. Choose well-being no matter what.
3. Choose to Embrace Well-Being No Matter What!
On a lovely spring day, I sat in my garden nook, surrounded by the evening sounds of spring peeper frogs and birdsong. When I went inside, I felt nourished and revitalized. That night, I woke at 3:00 AM still feeling recharged and basking in the afterglow of self-care.
Suddenly, I startled to feel the familiar creepy crawly of a wood tick on my skin. I hurried to the bathroom and flipped on the light switch to find the wood tick. Ewww! Back in bed, I lay still, trying to return to rest. My thoughts raced. What a terrible end to a great day! Why did a wood tick spoil my perfect evening? Then, I noticed my thoughts and took responsibility for my attitude. I told myself, I choose well-being anyway!
I choose well-being anyway! has been my mantra for years. When I wake up at 3:00 AM with another version of dread, worry, or doubt, I now have trained my default setting to return to, “I choose well-being anyway!”
I remember exactly where I was when I first made the pivot to choose well-being anyway.
Think of a few of those decisive moments in your life.
What were those choice points that built your character into who you are today?
On one of those ordinary days, I didn’t know I would create a life-changing timestamp. I was pregnant with our second baby. While pregnant with our first baby, I had the luxury of consuming lots of nutritional supplements, which I believed would fortify me and Baby. Now, during this pregnancy, I wasn’t making an income, and finances were tight. I felt guilty, powerless, and angry that I could not give this baby the same quality nutritional supplements. I feared for my and Baby’s health and well-being.
Standing in the kitchen, hands on hips in a power stance, I affirmed, I choose well-being anyway! Putting my hands on my round belly, I told Baby, “We don’t have all the advantages. But we are choosing well-being, health, vitality, and a graceful, elegant birth ANYWAY!”
And we achieved it!
Baby grew into a woman who transforms obstacles into opportunities, plows through difficulties, and overcomes challenges because she’s going to thrive anyway! Facing adversity helps build resilience.
When you are facing an obstacle, here are three tips to choose well-being anyway—even when things get tough.
- Pause and Reflect
Slow down and notice. When you face a challenging situation, pause, take a deep breath, and notice how you feel. Taking this pause helps you avoid reacting impulsively and gives you a chance to reflect. - Notice the Choice Point
Think about the different attitudes you could bring to the situation. Ask yourself questions like, “What are some ways I could respond?” or “What are my choices? How do I want to show up in this situation?” Try on different attitudes. Picture how each choice might affect the situation—like staying calm, getting curious, or showing resilience. How might choosing your attitude shape the outcome? - Choose and Commit
After exploring your options, choose the attitude that fits best with your values and the result you want. Commit fully to this choice and notice how it affects your experience and interactions with others.
In a world where life can feel chaotic and overwhelming, our power lies in these small, conscious choices. Each choice point, from stepping out of a negative spiral to choosing well-being in moments of doubt, strengthens our resilience. We can align with the highest and best version of ourselves. These moments become the building blocks of an upward spiral, not just for ourselves but for the well-being of those around us. Every time you choose well-being no matter what, you create a ripple effect, nourishing your spirit and uplifting others. Embrace these choice points with courage and intention. Your choice points lead you closer to your highest self.
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Mid-Week Reset Meditation
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RESCHEDULED: LIVE TOMORROW 11/19 5 pm ET/2pm PT
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Topic: The Power of Thoughts
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The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care, 25 Tools for Life will be available January 2025!
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About the book: Twenty-five passionate experts from The Wellness Universe unite to guide you on a journey toward living your most extraordinary life experience. Through heartfelt stories and transformative self-care tools, this collaboration offers a pathway to well-being, healing, and profound personal growth. The wisdom, experience, and genuine passion you’ll find in these pages go far beyond expectations. With every authentic story and masterful teaching, this book equips you with the tools to embrace a life of fulfillment and balance, built on a foundation of wholeness. It’s a natural extension of The Wellness Universe’s mission, to uplift, inspire, and contribute to a better world. May the joy, health, and healing you seek be yours in abundance as you step into the life you’ve always deserved!
Leah Skurdal guides people to up-level their stress resilience to improve relationships. Leah shares intuitive insights in private Energy Healing to address the roots of disharmony. As an inspirational speaker and published author, Leah offers lively classes, experiential workshops, and keynotes.
