Historically psychology has taught us that choice is our ultimate source of freedom.
Viktor Frankl put it well when he noted -
“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”
While we have the freedom to choose, every choice we make has an effect and a certain set of consequences. Often chain reactions occur through first our initial choices but also our decision to repeat, relive, and reiterate what we choose.
In the heat of the moment, we might make our poorest choices but it is the continued support and endorsement of our original reflexes that lead to the biggest effects on our performances and experience of wellbeing.
Your first choice can happen as an unconscious reflex. Your second, third and fourth choices can course correct immediately, so resolve to choose and choose again.