Am I making conscious choices?

Life is a series of trade offs.

We trade our time for money and trade our money for goods and services.

We delay gratification in order to receive larger rewards later.

We exercise and lift weights causing exhaustion and physical pain for both sort and long term health benefits or maybe just to look more attractive.

We eat super yummy foods that don't agree with our bodies and then pay the price later.

We watch just one more episode instead of getting an extra hour of sleep and don't feel fully energized the next day.

It's a similar story for consumers. We choose a more expensive product that is better for the planet. Or we may opt for better ingredients. Or maybe we go for worse ingredients but more aligned with our beliefs. Perhaps, we decide to optimize for price and take the cheapest option disregarding everything else. And still other times, we grab whatever is on the shelf in front of us without much thought at all to save time.

Trade offs are everywhere.

Here are some questions that I've been playing with:

• "Am I consciously making these choices?"
• "How do I ensure that these choices are aligned with with who I am and who I am becoming (and not part of an old story or perspective that no longer resonates with me)?"
• "How can I simplify my decision making so I don't spend 14 hours a day research every little nuance in my life?"

I want to make better choices. I believe that comes naturally from first being aware of the things we are optimizing for and then ensuring our actions to reflect that.