This past Sunday I was casually thumbing through a section of the local paper. I happened upon the personal finance pages, a section that usually makes about as much sense to me as watching a foreign language movie with no subtitles.

But then I saw a headline: “Your Money or Your Life?”*

I could relate to that feeling – in our challenging economic times, juggling the requirements of earning a living versus doing the kind of work I am passionate about sometimes makes me feel like I have to choose.

As I thought more about it, I also realized I have often fielded similar questions over the years about this same topic in a different setting, when mentees come to me asking how they can find the motivation to choose between their eating disorder and their life.

We DO have the wisdom to choose wisely in either/or scenarios

Whether it is money or life, an eating disorder or life, some other recovery issue or life, exercise or life, career or life, a relationship or life, or another either/or scenario, it can be tempting to assume we don’t have to choose, cannot choose, or must not choose.

The article offered three simple questions to cut through the confusion and restore our connection with the simple wisdom of the mentor within, who understands that we must choose, we can choose, and in the wisest places within, we already know what our choice is.

Question 1: Imagine you have the ability to buy anything, go anywhere and do anything. What would you buy? Where would you go? Would you live or visit? What would you do?

Question 2: Imagine you have a rare disease that gives you only 10 years to live. How will you spend your time, who will you spend it with, where will you spend it?

Question 3: Imagine you have just 24 hours to live. What would you do? Who would you spend it with? Where would you spend it?

Perhaps most interestingly, the article concludes by mentioning that most people who answer these questions return with just three responses:

• They wish they had fixed a broken relationship.
• They wish they had spent more time giving back to others.
• They wish they had explored their creativity more.

Today’s Takeaway: Take a few moments and journal out your thoughts for the three simple questions. Notice as you write which part of you is trying to respond. Are you responding from your head? From your heart? From the position of your eating disorder or some other recovery issue you may be grappling with? If you have trouble answering the questions, take a few moments to be quiet and clear your mind. Take a few deep breaths. Pretend you are five years old again and your best friend is asking you the three questions. Then write down your answers.

*Houston Chronicle Parade, Your Money or Your Life by Lee Eisenberg, August 29, 2010

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    Last reviewed: 14 Sep 2010