Choices Shape

Between Excuse and Ascent

“You can’t go both ways.”
— A sign in front of the present moment, an eternal fork in the road.

🛤️ A Morning Like Any Other

It began like any other Tuesday. Tasks pressed. Deadlines whispered. My thoughts scattered across a dozen open loops. Standing there—not in my kitchen, but at endless crossroads, between living in the future and the present. The eternal fork in the road, marked by a signpost with two arrows—Excuses or Progress.

Held in my mind’s eye, clear as daylight, I could see it:

A signpost.
One arrow: Excuses.
The other: Progress.

It is cartoonish—and yet:
A very real map.

🚪The Door We Walk Through, Again and Again

Every moment of hesitation is a door.

• Do I unconsciously check my phone... or check off that first hard task?

• Do I spiral in self-doubt... or take the next tiny action anyway?

• Do I wait until “I feel like it”... or build the life I keep saying I want?

You can’t go both ways.
Each excuse is a soft betrayal. Each act of progress is a declaration of war on entropy.

And here’s the truth:

Excuses are easy because they cost nothing now—but they charge interest forever.
Progress is hard because it costs now—but pays dividends across time, soul, and legacy.

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Control Is Not What I Thought 🎛️

Knowing I wanted to choose “Progress” wasn’t enough.

I still felt out of control—like I was trying to row a boat with one oar in a storm. I was spending my energy reacting to everything outside me:

• Someone’s doubting comment

• An unpredictable schedule

• Fear of future outcomes

• Regretting wasted time

That’s when I found this diagram. Not as a productivity tool—but as survival gear:

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The Control Cascade🧭

Where sanity lives.

1. The center ring is influence.
   My attitude. My effort. My response. These are mine. Always.

2. The influence ring is where I plant seeds.
   I can’t control anyone but myself—but I can set boundaries, speak truth, and choose who I give my time to.

3. The outer ring is noise.
   The past. Opinions. Weather. Outcomes. Let them go. They can never be carried.

This map is as simple a high-level guide as I’ve yet found.

Every day, when I’m doing my backwards review. I now ask:

• “Where am I leaking energy to that I can’t control?”

• “What’s the next smallest action I can take with what’s in my hands?”

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📜 A Code to Live By

If I could write this on stone, I would:

Balance on the center. Act on what’s yours. Release the rest.

Choose progress. Choose presence. Choose signal over noise.

Because life doesn’t need to be easier.
It needs to be aligned.

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🌱 Your Turn

Today, you’ll face a thousand forks:

• Will you explain why you didn’t… just begin?

• Will you scroll… or build?

• Will you fume at the world… or place the next brick in front of yourself?

You get one steering wheel. One Life. Use it.

You’re gifted a built-in superpower: choice.

And the signpost is always there, quietly waiting:

Excuses ← | → Progress

Choose. Again. Now. Forever.