{"id":261,"date":"2014-02-02T19:37:08","date_gmt":"2014-02-02T19:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/?p=261"},"modified":"2014-02-02T19:37:08","modified_gmt":"2014-02-02T19:37:08","slug":"the-choice-is-yours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html","title":{"rendered":"The Choice Is Yours"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the sun is shining, do you go out and soak it up? Or do you think about the drought and wish for rain?<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

When the birds are singing, do you open the windows and enjoy their songs? Or do you close the windows and gripe about the noise?<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

When your kids are laughing, do you join in with them and act silly and goofy? Or do you ask them to be quiet and take their laughter somewhere else?<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

When your spouse says they miss you, do you clear your schedule and hug them and let them know that you miss them, too? Or do you say that you\u2019re sorry that you\u2019re busy but you just don\u2019t think you can spare the time because you\u2019re on a deadline?<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

When you receive a beautiful message from the universe, do you embrace it and act on it? Or do you ignore it and say that you aren\u2019t ready or you are too afraid?<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

When your favorite song comes on the radio, do you stop what you\u2019re doing to sing and dance? Or do you not even hear it because you\u2019re so wrapped up in your thoughts?<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

When you accomplish a goal that you\u2019ve long been striving for, do you take time to celebrate and acknowledge this job well done? Or do you immediately move onto the next goal?<\/i><\/p>\n

Out of all of these scenarios, neither choice is right and neither choice is wrong. But each choice leads us down a certain path.<\/strong> And when we continue choosing one way or another, we\u2019ll find that the choices begin to look alike.<\/p>\n

If we consistently choose the first option in the examples above, our lives will most likely be joyful and filled with gratitude and expansiveness.<\/p>\n

If we consistently choose the second option in the examples above, our lives will most likely feel grayer and more constricted \u2013 less full of life and possibility.<\/p>\n

We all are faced with so many little choices each day. And how we react to each situation that we experience creates our life.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We each get to decide which path we\u2019ll choose. Which option to choose.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

And those that we choose consistently become our existence.<\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s pretty wonderful that we have so much power and control over our life. We can\u2019t control what comes into our life, but we can control our reaction to it \u2013 our mindset about it. And I love that.<\/p>\n

It is possible to consistently choose the first option in the examples above. And it is possible to be happy and filled with joy and gratitude.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The choice is ours. It always has been.<\/p>\n

Does that mean that our life is perfect? No.<\/p>\n

Does that mean that everything always falls into place and nothing bad ever happens? No.<\/p>\n

Does that mean that we will immediately embrace each new experience and see it as a blessing? No.<\/p>\n

But it does mean that when we shift our mindset to one of expansion, love, and possibility, over time we begin to see our world differently. We begin to focus on the positive and on the good. We begin to see love all around us.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t mean that we never are in a bad mood or we never feel down. It just means that our overall focus is on love and possibility and gratitude.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all. Sometimes the most powerful shifts are the simplest ones. Sometimes it\u2019s just one single choice made over and over again that determines our life and our happiness.<\/p>\n

So as you\u2019re going through your day and you\u2019re faced with a choice, I invite you to choose love and possibility. I invite you to just try it and see how your life changes because of it.<\/p>\n

I have a feeling it will be pretty amazing.<\/p>\n

Hugs,<\/p>\n

Jodi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"about<\/a><\/p>\n

Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and a soulful community builder.\u00a0She lives her life with love and faith in the driver\u2019s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul\u2019s whisper and create our best lives. She would love to connect with you!<\/p>\n

Website<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Pay-What-You-Want Ecourse<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Free Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the sun is shining, do you go out and soak it up? Or do you think about the drought and wish for rain?\u00a0 When the birds are singing, do you open the windows and enjoy their songs? Or do you close the windows and gripe about the noise?\u00a0 When your kids are laughing, do…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":559,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[26,2,3],"class_list":["post-261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-choice","tag-heart-of-the-soul","tag-jodi-chapman"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Choice Is Yours - Heart of the Soul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Choice Is Yours - Heart of the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the sun is shining, do you go out and soak it up? Or do you think about the drought and wish for rain?\u00a0 When the birds are singing, do you open the windows and enjoy their songs? Or do you close the windows and gripe about the noise?\u00a0 When your kids are laughing, do…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Heart of the Soul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-02T19:37:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2013\/09\/about-jodi.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jodi Chapman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Choice Is Yours - Heart of the Soul","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Choice Is Yours - Heart of the Soul","og_description":"When the sun is shining, do you go out and soak it up? Or do you think about the drought and wish for rain?\u00a0 When the birds are singing, do you open the windows and enjoy their songs? Or do you close the windows and gripe about the noise?\u00a0 When your kids are laughing, do…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html","og_site_name":"Heart of the Soul","article_published_time":"2014-02-02T19:37:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2013\/09\/about-jodi.jpg"}],"author":"Jodi Chapman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html","name":"The Choice Is Yours - Heart of the Soul","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2013\/09\/about-jodi.jpg","datePublished":"2014-02-02T19:37:08+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-02T19:37:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#\/schema\/person\/c648eb97ca40c7503f05db1376bc947f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2013\/09\/about-jodi.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/heartofthesoul\/files\/2013\/09\/about-jodi.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2014\/02\/the-choice-is-yours.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Choice Is Yours"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/","name":"Heart of the Soul","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Jodi Chapman","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/#\/schema\/person\/c648eb97ca40c7503f05db1376bc947f","name":"Jodi Chapman","description":"Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and an inspirational community builder. She wears her heart on her sleeve and tends to attract others into her life who do the same. It\u2019s her heart\u2019s desire to help others reconnect with their soul and plug back into their life. After experiencing a spiritual awakening in October 2010, she went from being a complete skeptic to a believer in miracles and the magic that is always occurring all around us. She now lives her life with love and faith in the driver\u2019s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul\u2019s whisper and create our best lives. Jodi Chapman is the author of the award-winning blog, Soul Speak, the creator of several inspirational ecourses, a soulful guide, and the co-author of the bestselling\u00a0Soulful Journals series, which she wrote with her husband, Dan Teck. She lives in southern Oregon with her beautiful best friend\/soulmate Dan. They share their lives with three wonderful cats: Biddle, Buncom, and Elsie. She would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter! And you can also join her Soul Speak community: www.jodichapman.com. Be sure to download her free ebook, Journaling from the Soul, here!","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jodichapman.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/author\/jchapman"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261\/revisions\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}