For many of us, we have spent a good portion of our lives being told what we should be doing, what we are expected to choose, what we are suppose to like, until it is such a habit we may have lost what it is we really love. Perhaps we haven't consciously stepped back and asked ourselves, "What do I honestly prefer?" That is living by accident, not on purpose, and it can get really boring and exhausting.
Well, if that rings true for you, I think this is going to be a fun week. Over the next seven days we are going to practice asking ourselves 10, or a 100, or a 1000 times a day, "What do I prefer in this situation? What do I really love?" It could be what you prefer to eat? It could be about driving a different route than usual because you just want to try it. It could be about preferring wearing these clothes to those clothes. Or, it could be deeper preferences around what tasks at work you prefer, what things you prefer to do for your health, or your relationships.
The trick is don't justify what you prefer. Don't tell yourself reasons why you prefer it. And, perhaps most importantly, this is not about being right about why you don't like something else. Just 'admit' to yourself, "this is what I prefer." In your own mind allow a momentum to get going: I prefer this; I prefer that; I really love that, don't know why I just do; what fun this is; oh, someday I am going to do that. Just let your true preferences flow.
The great thing with practicing this is no one else needs to agree with what you prefer, in fact, while playing with this this week, don't tell anyone what your preferences are. Just enjoy this with yourself. At times I have been a little embarrassed with what I have preferred, but once I just admitted to myself that I really, really enjoy this food or that T.V. show, and allow myself to love it, how good that feels, and how clarifying it is to just own that aspect of ourselves!!!
Now some may be thinking, "if I do that I will eat everything in sight and do nothing all week!" Well first, I know that is not true, but second, for this week I am not saying take action with any of your preferences (we will get to that in Part III of the Journal), just get in the swing of being honest with yourself about what you prefer. See if there are some things that you have been saying, doing, and being that are not who you really are; are not true for you; that have been motivated by what you think you should be doing. Notice why you haven't been choosing what you love and prefer. Again, if you can, jot them down on paper and take a look at your list at the end of the week. That will be a fun look at WYRA.
Your preferences this week may not be life changing, but the habit of knowing your preferences will be.