Quiz interprets style you use to make choices

How do you make choices? Take this quiz from Ann Kramer, a licensed mental health counselor based in Hood River, Ore., and creator of lifepuzzle.com, a Web site devoted to helping people find practical, tangible ways “to create whole and dynamic lives”:

1. When I choose something to eat, I usually:

A. Go for the quick, feel-good fix.

B. Think about what my body and mind need and want so it can have a high-energy day.

C. Try to get the basic four food groups within each meal.

2. When I consider choosing to exercise, I:

A. Do it because I’m supposed to, but I don’t like it.

B. Do it knowing I want my body to be healthy and vibrant.

C. Do it knowing that something is better than nothing, and this is the most I can do today.

3. When it comes to how I choose to manage my money, I:

A. Buy whatever I want whenever I want because it makes me feel good now.

B. Think about the purchases I make and how they impact my overall financial situation.

C. Think that if I have enough to pay the bill at the end of the month, that’s good, and I buy it.

4. When I look at how I choose to parent my child, I:

A. Provide food, clothing, housing and school and that should get them through.

B. Understand that I’m helping to develop a whole human who also is a physical, emotional, thinking, sexual and spiritual being like I am.

C. Trust that after a certain age (10 or so), I accept that they’ll know how to figure out what they need.

5. When I look at how I choose to be in a relationship, I:

A. Usually cross my fingers, shake my head and hope it works out.

B. Have a clear awareness of what I want in a partner and take responsibility to be involved to create a successful relationship.

C. Believe that if we love each enough, we can get through any difficulty when it shows up.

If you selected more As and Cs than Bs, your choosing style is reactive, you’re relatively unconscious of how you run your life and you tend to follow the status quo, Kramer says. To change this, she recommends shifting your view to create a life that honors your whole self. “Look at one of the five questions above, choose B and think, ‘What would I do differently starting tomorrow if I choose to operate my life from this perspective?’ “

If you chose more Bs, your choosing style is more proactive, conscious and directed at creating a dynamic life. “You understand isn’t about being perfect; it is about being ‘present’ each day and making the best choices possible, even in the midst of chaos,” Kramer says. “You know life is a lifelong learning adventure to be lived fully each day, right up ‘til the day you die.”