When doing an internship for my masters in psychology, a therapist I worked with had me study many types of therapeutic interaction. One of those was Transactional Analysis by Dr. Eric Berne.

In Transactional Analysis there are three major components to consciously managing ones life. They are: Awareness—Choice—Control.

Awareness is recognizing what is going on around you and within you in your life situations. It is noticing how others are behaving and speaking, and your response to those interactions. Awareness is becoming conscious of the various options you and they both have as you deal with each other.

Choice is about what you are giving your focus to. Everything people do is the result of a choice. Someone will say, “I have to work I don’t have a choice. If I don’t show up for work I will get fired.” They still have a choice, though they may not like the choice of getting fired it is still within their options to go to work or not go to work.

What you are doing, or not doing, is the result of your choices. There are definitely times when you may not feel like you have a choice, but what you really don’t like are the options you have in front of you within the choices.

The third aspect of living consciously is control. First you become aware of the patterns of you and others, and what’s going on around you—then second you make choices about the actions you will or won’t take. Through this awareness and your choices you will either gain, lose or maintain control.

By thinking about situations you will encounter ahead of time, you can preprogram more appropriate responses. Through this thinking ahead you gain control. This doesn’t mean you have to plan out every moment of your day, yet in challenging situations you know you will encounter choose strategies that are most effective in helping you manage the interactions.

Live more consciously through awareness and choice, and by so doing, you will gain more control. Nudge your brain into success….