Martha Treats Newsletter
Martha Treats, sent once a month by email, gives you an inspiring learning nugget around completion
and includes an invitation to take action around that learning in your life.
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Just published: Martha Treat #206
Choosing vs Autopilot
We make thousands of choices a day. (For perspective – there are 43,200 seconds in our waking hours for making choices.) Possible choices range from decisions about a job, an investment, a partnership to choosing to check a text or eat something. In my view getting to choose is one of the perks and privileges of being in a human body.
For me, how I choose matters. The important question is: Am I choosing or simply doing what I have always done?
Our choosing criteria typically includes our energy level in the moment, who is involved, the amount of time we have, the consequences of not doing, and so on. All reasonable and helpful. But the one critical piece is listening to the part of us that tells us if we are in alignment or on autopilot.
In my Hour of Focus call, I ask people to check to see if what they had “planned to do” is still on purpose. When I pause and listen, I sometimes find the choice changes.
Giving myself the courtesy of aligned choices impacts my attitude and increases my inner and outer cooperation. Automatic choices tend to sacrifice inner alignment. Often, I can track an irritation back to a not honest choice.
All of us have had an experience of knowing we need to cancel an appointment but then agonize over canceling as we don’t have a good reason. When I choose what is true for me, I often experience the other person being grateful as they also did not want to keep the appointment but didn’t want to disappoint.
Being in partnership with our inner awareness offers different choices we might not have ever considered. Choosing to do based on inner knowing and intuition vs automatic and outdated behavior, tends to produce more purposeful outcomes.
As I see it, our wonderful minds provide an endless supply of ideas and actions from which to choose. When there is a large volume of creative ideas, delegating our choosing to the knowing part of us is essential.
It takes practice and trust to keep listening to our inner alignment channel. Pausing to ask for inner guidance and direction can be awkward at first but, over time, the empowerment, trust, and clarity of our deeper listening can replace our autopilot behaviors.
Make choosing a conscious practice. Check to see if a simple action is in alignment with your loftier goals. Wise choosing allows access to our higher purpose that can serve the good of all.
Martha Invitations
1. When the sound of an incoming text catches your attention, pause to check if aligned before looking to see who texted. Nothing is that urgent.
2. View your Next Actions list from your inner alignment and wisdom and see what the knower in you chooses.
3. If there is something you habitually do, ask if there is another choice you hadn’t considered and listen for the offering.
Martha
virginia@msia.org
Share this Treat
and includes an invitation to take action around that learning in your life.
Subscribe for Free Now
Just published: Martha Treat #206
Choosing vs Autopilot
We make thousands of choices a day. (For perspective – there are 43,200 seconds in our waking hours for making choices.) Possible choices range from decisions about a job, an investment, a partnership to choosing to check a text or eat something. In my view getting to choose is one of the perks and privileges of being in a human body.
For me, how I choose matters. The important question is: Am I choosing or simply doing what I have always done?
Our choosing criteria typically includes our energy level in the moment, who is involved, the amount of time we have, the consequences of not doing, and so on. All reasonable and helpful. But the one critical piece is listening to the part of us that tells us if we are in alignment or on autopilot.
In my Hour of Focus call, I ask people to check to see if what they had “planned to do” is still on purpose. When I pause and listen, I sometimes find the choice changes.
Giving myself the courtesy of aligned choices impacts my attitude and increases my inner and outer cooperation. Automatic choices tend to sacrifice inner alignment. Often, I can track an irritation back to a not honest choice.
All of us have had an experience of knowing we need to cancel an appointment but then agonize over canceling as we don’t have a good reason. When I choose what is true for me, I often experience the other person being grateful as they also did not want to keep the appointment but didn’t want to disappoint.
Being in partnership with our inner awareness offers different choices we might not have ever considered. Choosing to do based on inner knowing and intuition vs automatic and outdated behavior, tends to produce more purposeful outcomes.
As I see it, our wonderful minds provide an endless supply of ideas and actions from which to choose. When there is a large volume of creative ideas, delegating our choosing to the knowing part of us is essential.
It takes practice and trust to keep listening to our inner alignment channel. Pausing to ask for inner guidance and direction can be awkward at first but, over time, the empowerment, trust, and clarity of our deeper listening can replace our autopilot behaviors.
Make choosing a conscious practice. Check to see if a simple action is in alignment with your loftier goals. Wise choosing allows access to our higher purpose that can serve the good of all.
Martha Invitations
1. When the sound of an incoming text catches your attention, pause to check if aligned before looking to see who texted. Nothing is that urgent.
2. View your Next Actions list from your inner alignment and wisdom and see what the knower in you chooses.
3. If there is something you habitually do, ask if there is another choice you hadn’t considered and listen for the offering.
Martha
virginia@msia.org
Share this Treat
Read Previous Treats:
|
2019
Treat #205 Defaulting to the One-Track Focus
Treat #204 Elegant and On Purpose Treat #203 The Fullness in Minimal Treat #202 The Real Culprit of Focus Drain Treat #201 Resting in Action Treat #200 Loving the Empty Spaces Treat #199 Putting Together All The Pieces Treat #198 Are you at the Top of your To Do List? |
2018
Treat #197 The Tiny Finishings
Treat #196 Emergency,Crisis,Fire Treat #195 Mastership Treat #194 It Works Every Time Treat #193 Let the Stuffing Be Gone Treat #192 Whole Focus Treat #191 The One Thing Not to Complete Treat #190 Just Keep It Flowing Treat #189 In Between Time Treat #188 What is Stealing Your Energy? Treat #187 To Skim or Not to Skim Treat #186 I Love January |
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2017
Treat #185 Both Hands Please
Treat #184 I'll Remember Treat #183 Creating New Doing Paths Treat #182 A Habit Worth Quitting Treat #181 Eclipse of Action Treat #180 Forgive Me for Multitasking Treat #179 What are You Looking At? Treat #178 Are you Squishing Snails? Treat #177 Relaxing the Grip Treat #176 All the Time in the World Treat #175 When is Enough . . . Enough Treat #174 Engaging Yourself to Completion |
2016
Treat #173 A Kink in the Works
Treat #172 What's Stopping You? Treat #171 All of Ours to Do Treat #170 Attitude Adjustment Treat #169 IN Consciousness Treat #168 Completing Past our Reactions Treat #167 Keep Your Dog Leash Treat #166 The Essential Piece Treat #165 Day is Done Treat #164 Do-Nothing Time Treat #163 Curbside Calm Treat #162 Pile-Up |
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2015:
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2014:
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Treat #161 Gentle Doing
Treat #160 Freedom in the Discipline Treat #159 Finding New Routes Treat #158 Keeping the Awe Alive Treat #157 "Finishiative" Treat #156 The Exquisite Sound of the Moment Treat #155 Up-to-the-minute Treat #154 Uninviting Interruptions Treat #153 What's bugging you Treat #152 Competing Attention Treat #151 Our Inner Awareness Treat #150 Spontaneously Fresh and Alive |
Treat #149 Without the Push
Treat #148 100% With... Treat #147 Are You Signaling? Treat #146 What is Pulling on Your Attention? Treat #145 Gathering Ourselves Out of Overwhelm Treat #144 Wonderings – Another Kind of Incomplete Treat #143 Asking – A New Form of Delegating Treat #142 Split Attention Payback Treat #141 Getting All the Way In To Doing Treat #140 Willingness to Look Treat #139 Follow Yourself Around Treat #138 A New Kind of Flow |
2013:
Treat #137 Well Done
Treat #136 Moving from all-at-once to one-at-a-time
Treat #135 All the Way Through to Completion
Treat #134 Out of Control Into Freedom
Treat #133 The Present Processor
Treat #136 Moving from all-at-once to one-at-a-time
Treat #135 All the Way Through to Completion
Treat #134 Out of Control Into Freedom
Treat #133 The Present Processor