“What do I have to do today?” This question pops into my head before I even open my eyes and pull back the covers.   

It’s Monday morning, and after 20 years in the mortgage business, where everything runs on a deadline, asking this question is a hard habit to break.  

This morning I get to say: Nothing.  Always brings a smile to my face.  But the truth is, the answer has always been the same:  Nothing

“Must be nice, you say.  I have 20 things to do before I get out of the house, and just thinking about it puts me two hours behind!”

Truth is you don’t have to do ANY of it.  Not even brush your teeth or change  your underwear.

You want to, you will do, because you’re the kind of person who does what they say they will do, who takes responsibility for things and who was raised with good hygiene.

They used to say “nothing is certain but death and taxes”.  I say death and choices.    

You know you will die, no surprise there- it’s just when, where and how. Everything else is a choice.  

You are probably thinking “I have to get to work, because I have a mortgage. I have kids to feed and I made promises to people”.

But you know folks, we all know folks, who don’t. They choose not to care for their children, pay their bills, keep promises … or even make them.  You can save the moral judgment for later, but that is a fact. 

I woke up many a Monday morning telling myself I had no choice. I used to wonder how it would look if it were up to me.  If I didn’t have to pay the mortgage, keep the promises, make myself valuable and proud. 

As I sit here on the beach writing this, it’s still a hard habit to break. I still think, what do I have to do today? 

Nothing. 

And then I remember: What do I choose to do today? Smiling, I think, there are a few things.  

If everything you do is a choice, what do you choose?