CHOICE AWARENESS

Choice Awareness as a system is founded on a definition of choice as any behavior over which the individual has some degree of control. Many basic concepts derive from this definition and are relevant to individuals of all ages. Briefly stated, those concepts include the following:

• We make choices all the time.
• We can make each choice in a variety of ways.
• Our relationships affect our choices.
• We have goals in our relationships.
• We make OK and OD (overdone) choices along a continuum of options.
• We can learn to choose more often from the OK end of the continuum.
• Our basic choices include Caring, Ruling, Enjoying, Sorrowing, and Thinking/Working.
• We can use these CREST choices in two key ways: as an acronym to remind ourselves of the kinds of choices available to us in the moment, and as a system for helping us plan ahead to make choices that may achieve more effective relationships.
• We make Caring choices when we respond to our own needs or the needs of others.
• We make Ruling choices whenever we demonstrate leadership for ourselves or with others.
• We make Enjoying choices when we express our positive feelings to ourselves or to others.
• We make Sorrowing choices when we express our negative feelings to ourselves or to others.
• We make a great many Thinking/working choices daily as we attend to our tasks.
• We can make our choices so as to influence consequences in more positive directions.
• We choose our feelings in the moment.
• We choose how we feel about ourselves and others.

Consult the List of Publications for sources concerning Choice Awareness.

Click on CREST Choices for more detail about these five choices.

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Created and maintained by Richard Nelson. Last update: August 16, 2010.