September's Challenge Mid-Month Check in.

We’re almost halfway through September.

At the beginning of the month, I invited you to try something simple.

​Make one intentional choice every day.​

Not thirty perfect decisions.

Not a complete redesign of your life.

Just one moment each day when you notice what’s happening, pause long enough to consider it, and intentionally decide what happens next.

By now, you may have discovered something interesting.

Choosing isn’t always as obvious as it sounds.

Sometimes we aren’t really choosing.

Sometimes…

we’re simply agreeing with the first influence that speaks.

The Choice That Doesn’t Feel Like a Choice

Think about some of the decisions you’ve made today.

What did you eat?

What did you wear?

What did you look at first when you picked up your phone?

Which route did you take?

What did you spend money on?

What did you postpone?

How did you respond when someone frustrated you?

Most of those probably didn’t feel like decisions.

You just…

did them.

And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that.

We couldn’t function very well if every tiny action required a committee meeting inside our heads.

But occasionally, it’s worth asking:

“Did I choose that—or did I simply follow what was already in motion?”

That’s where September starts getting interesting.

The First Voice Isn’t the Only Voice

One thing I’ve been thinking about during this challenge is how quickly influences make their arguments.

Fear rarely waits patiently.

It says:

“Don’t do it.”

Anger doesn’t usually request a meeting for tomorrow.

It says:

“Say something now.”

Comfort has a familiar suggestion:

“You can do it later.”

Habit doesn’t need to say much at all.

It simply points toward the path we’ve taken a hundred times before.

Then there are other voices.

Expectations.

Advertising.

Other people’s opinions.

Past experiences.

The desire to be liked.

The desire to be right.

The desire to avoid discomfort.

And somewhere among all of them…

there’s you.

The purpose of September isn’t to silence every influence.

It’s to remember that the first voice to speak doesn’t automatically deserve authority.

What Have You Been Giving Authority To?

This is our mid-month question.

Over the past couple of weeks, what influence seems to be receiving your vote most often?

Maybe it’s fear.

Maybe comfort.

Maybe habit.

Maybe another person’s expectations.

Maybe you’ve discovered that you make decisions based on what will create the least conflict.

Or perhaps you’ve noticed something positive.

Maybe patience has been speaking a little louder.

Maybe curiosity has replaced an assumption.

Maybe you’ve started asking questions instead of immediately defending yourself.

Maybe you’ve chosen the uncomfortable thing because you knew it moved you toward something you wanted.

There isn’t a correct answer.

The point is to notice.

Because once we recognize which influences are receiving authority…

we can decide whether we want to keep giving it to them.

Choosing Differently Isn’t Always Comfortable

Here’s something else you may have discovered.

Intentional choice can be uncomfortable.

There’s a reason we develop patterns.

Familiar choices are easy.

We know what happens next.

If you normally avoid difficult conversations, speaking up can feel uncomfortable.

If you normally say yes to keep everyone happy, saying no can feel uncomfortable.

If you normally quit when something becomes frustrating, continuing can feel uncomfortable.

If you normally respond immediately when you’re angry, remaining quiet for a moment can feel incredibly uncomfortable.

That discomfort doesn’t automatically mean you’re making the wrong choice.

Sometimes it simply means you’re making an unfamiliar one.

And unfamiliar choices require something automatic choices rarely do.

Your Attention.

But Different Doesn’t Automatically Mean Better

There’s another side to this.

We shouldn’t choose differently simply for the sake of being different.

If you pause, consider your influences, think about the consequences, and still choose the familiar path…

that may be exactly the right decision.

Remember:

The goal isn’t rebellion against habit.

The goal is participation.

You’re becoming present for the decision.

That’s the practice.

Sometimes intentional choice changes your direction.

Sometimes it confirms the direction you were already traveling.

Both can be valuable.

Your Mid-Month Check-In

Take a few quiet minutes sometime today and think about the first half of September.

Ask yourself:

• What intentional choice am I proud of making?
• Which influence seems to receive authority most often?
• Where am I still operating automatically?
• What choice have I been avoiding?
• Have I confused discomfort with making the wrong decision?
• Is there a familiar choice I would intentionally make again?

Don’t turn the answers into a score.

We aren’t grading September.

We’re studying it.

Curiosity gives us information.

Judgment often makes us defensive.

And information gives us something we didn’t have before.

Another choice.

One Small Experiment for the Rest of September

For the second half of the month, let’s add one small step to our practice.

When you notice a decision that matters, pause and ask:

“If I choose this, what am I also choosing?”

That question can reveal more than we expect.

There’s actually a name for part of what we’re looking for here: opportunity cost.

Every time we choose one option, we’re also giving up something another option might have provided. Interestingly, research examining opportunity-cost neglect suggests we don’t always naturally consider those alternatives when making decisions.

That’s why asking “If I choose this, what am I also choosing?” can be so useful.

Choosing to spend the money might also mean choosing to delay another goal.

Choosing to avoid the conversation might also mean choosing to let the situation continue.

Choosing another hour of scrolling might also mean choosing an hour away from something else.

Choosing to say no might mean choosing more time for something that matters.

Choosing to begin might mean accepting that you won’t be perfect at first.

Every choice creates something.

Sometimes the consequence is obvious.

Sometimes we don’t recognize it until later.

But asking the question helps us look beyond the immediate moment.

If I choose this, what am I also choosing?

Notice. Pause. Choose. Learn.

July taught us to notice.

August taught us to pause.

September has been teaching us to choose.

But there’s another piece beginning to appear.

Learn.

We make the choice.

We see what happens.

Then we learn from it.

Maybe the decision worked exactly as expected.

Maybe it didn’t.

Maybe we’d make the same choice again.

Maybe next time we’ll choose differently.

That doesn’t make the first decision a failure.

It makes it information.

And information can influence the next choice.

So perhaps the process is becoming:

Awareness → Pause → Choice → Learn

Then…

we do it again.

The Choice Is Still Yours

There are still a couple of weeks left in September.

You don’t need to make up for choices you missed.

You don’t need a perfect streak.

You don’t need to analyze every decision you make.

Just keep looking for one moment each day when you can become an active participant in what happens next.

Notice the influence.

Pause.

Consider what your choice will create.

Choose intentionally.

Then pay attention to what happens.

Because maybe living more intentionally isn’t about always knowing the right choice.

Maybe it’s about becoming aware enough to recognize that there is a choice…

and courageous enough to make it.

One moment.

One pause.

One choice.

One lesson.

One day at a time.

Until next time,

— Magus G.Mack

A Message from Magus G.Mack