Welcome to our ADULT LIFE DECISIONS Series. These posts are about the adults in the lives of children because children deserve caring, healthy adults taking care of them. It is designed to help adults become more aware of their own potential as they strive to make the best lives possible for themselves and their children. Each posting will explore life decisions adults are faced with and how they can update those decisions to be sure they are helpful to them in their current life circumstances.
To get the most from this post …
READ FIRST the earlier posts:
YOUR “BEST FIT” LIFE DECISION AREA
You are likely recycling one or more life decision areas at this time in your life. By figuring out which one(s) fits your current life circumstances, you can make the most of an opportunity to update and improve on how you think and feel about yourself, others, and the world around you.
This is an exercise to help you zero in on life decision areas that might be most important to you right now. You will look at eight (8) ideas and prioritize them.
How to prioritize the ideas:
-
Consider to what degree the idea is top of mind for you at this time in your life for whatever reason.
-
Consider how much you are concerned about the idea, think about the idea, and/or how important the idea is to you.
-
Do not think about whether the idea describes you. Whether the idea describes you is not important. It can be on your mind a lot even if it does not describe you.
Number the ideas below from #1 to #8.
#1 should be the idea that is most on your mind right now in your life, something you think about often, are concerned about, is very important to you. #8 should be the idea least on your mind.
IDEAS TO PRIORIZE:
-
Solving problems
-
Starting new projects
-
Depending on others
-
Ending relationships or roles
-
Authority: Accepting or using it
-
Creating a “bucket” list
-
Willingness to learn new skills
-
Life accomplishments
The ideas that you selected as #1 and #2 may tell you what types of life decisions your life situation is prompting you to recycle (fine tune). Recycling those life decision areas means you will have an opportunity to improve your life decisions making them more in keeping with your current circumstances, the person you have become, and how your life has changed over time.
Find below the ideas you selected as #1 and #2 and read specifically what types of decisions are included.
SOLVING PROBLEMS is one part of THINKING FOR YOURSELF life decisions. They include decisions about being autonomous, expressing strong feelings, thinking independently, saying no, being right, solving problems, and knowing that your needs, thoughts, and feelings are as important as those of others.
STARTING NEW PROJECTS is one part of EXPLORATION life decisions. They include decisions about taking risks, showing initiative to get things started, creating new things, being adventuresome, determined, and interested and excited about life.
DEPENDING ON OTHERS is one part of TRUST life decisions. They include decisions about belonging, caring about others, being cared for, living, thriving, asking for what you need, being hopeful, accepting and enjoying comfort, and trusting that you can depend on people and the world around you to help you get your needs met.
ENDING RELATIONSHIPS OR ROLES is part of SEPARATION life decisions. They include decisions about separating from people, things, places, roles, and relationships, making and keeping commitments, being independent, and believing you can get along in your world despite losses and changes.
ACCEPTING AND USING AUTHORITY is one part of IDENTITY life decisions. They include decisions about defining who you are, how to interact with others to get needs met, how you are alike and different from others, knowing socially appropriate behavior, what you have power over and what not, accepting and using power, and what is real and what is not.
CREATING A “BUCKET LIST” is one part of LIFE SATISFACTION life decisions. They include decisions about completing life purposes, satisfaction with your life, and passing on wisdom and talents to the next generation.
WILLINGNESS TO LEARN NEW SKILLS is part of COMPETENCY life decisions. They include decisions about wanting to do many things well, learning new skills, trusting intuition, evaluating values and rules, and accepting responsibility and consequences of behavior.
LIFE ACCOMPLISHMENTS is one part of LIFE PURPOSE life decisions.They include decisions about defining what you want out of life, seeking success, investing in the next generation, honoring commitments, and showing concern for others.
Picture Book Parenting 