Colorado Real Estate Journal - October 21, 2015
I was ordering breakfast at a local diner; a simple breakfast: toast and orange juice. Then came the question; white, wheat or sourdough? I didn’t want to make a choice, I just wanted toast and orange juice. But, I sat there a moment wrestling with my options and said, ”wheat please.” Choices and decisions are a way of life. We begin learning the importance of making the right choice from a very early age and the consequences that follow every choice. As a child, choices are usually pretty black and white and teach us values, ethics, morals and consequences associated with each choice. As we grow older, our experiences cause us to hesitate in the face of making a decision. We understand consequences and often put off making difficult or undesirable choices. We know all too well that procrastination has its own consequence as well. So; white, wheat or sourdough? Let’s start with white or wheat. There are two big differences: how they’re processed and how healthful they are. The flour for both is made from wheat berries, which have three nutrient-rich parts: the bran (the outer layers), the germ (the innermost area) and the endosperm (the starchy part in between). Whole wheat is processed to include all three nutritious parts, but white flour uses only the endosperm, when put head-to-head with whole wheat bread, white is a nutritional lightweight. Whole wheat is much higher in fiber, vitamins B6 and E, magnesium, zinc, folic acid and chromium. But of all these nutritional goodies, fiber is the star. Sourdough is bread made from the natural occurring yeast and bacteria in flour. In traditional sourdough recipes, you’ll find three ingredients: sourdough starter (flour and water), salt and flour. There is no yeast, no milk, no oils and no sweeteners. It’s about as natural as you get when it comes to bread. For the sake of time and discussion, sourdough is arguably the healthiest bread choice. Our choices have been narrowed somewhat, wheat or sourdough. Research bares out the statement that sourdough is healthier, and it begins with how it is made through how it is digested in our body. That is as deep as I’m going on the subject. One more point, taste. Ask anyone who has eaten sourdough and they’ll tell you that the tang is what makes it special, if you like ‘the tang’. Or, if you may prefer other bread choices based on flavor alone. This brings me to my point, choices are not always made on what we know, but on how we feel. Knowing and feeling may deliver very different consequences. Therefore, good choices or decision making requires us to evaluate the outcome, or at least potential outcome, before we make our choice. I offer a look at choices and decision making because the challenge I want to suggest is do you resist change because of the choice or choices you must make in order to change. To remain unchanged, is to accept things as they are. According to Michael Gerber, author of The Emyth Contractor, your business “It’s going to grow or it’s going to die, the choice is yours.” Growing means change and to change requires choices and in choices we have freedom to expand and go in a different direction. A choice is something I celebrate every day, well most every day, because choices are what defines me, challenges me and are mine alone. It is the control I have in all situations and the hope that where I am tomorrow will be someplace different than where I am today. The next time you are presented with a choice or choices, make a choice and own it. Celebrate that in your choice you have an opportunity to discover, reaffirm, challenge, change and grow.