FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
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July 10, 2023,
You are not confused as to what to do.
We wouldn’t describe it that way.
You just need a little more time. A little more research. A little more brainstorming. A little more time to take stock of your situation.
Then you can make a decision. Hopefully a great one.
Feel blessed that you have real choices and options.
That is a good thing.
Recently, an associate in our circle named Tabitha, received some good news.
Her local gym that was five minutes away was re-opening after Covid shut it down. One day she was driving down the street and saw them putting up the re-opening sign.
During that shut down, she had to drive 25 minutes to another gym in the family franchise. Then 25 minutes back home. It was located in a much nicer neighborhood and she loved shopping at stores, previously she would not have.
Now, she has choices and options.
She will start working out at the local gym five minutes away, but on a nice sunny day, a feel good morning, she will make the drive to be at the classier gym.
In Tabitha’s case, the choices and options were created for her. She had no control over the management’s decision to re-open.
From our experience?
It is better if you create your own choices and options. Sometimes you have them and are not aware that you do.
We now turn to film.
Brittany Runs a Marathon is a 2019 American comedy film written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo, in his directorial debut.
It stars Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, and Micah Stock. The film follows an overweight woman in New York City who sets out to lose weight and train for the city’s annual marathon.
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2019 and was released on August 23, 2019, by Amazon Studios.
Here we delve deeper into the storyline.
Brittany Forgler is a 28-year-old living in New York City, employed as a greeter at an off-Broadway theater.
Sounds depressing. Dead end.
She and her roommate Gretchen, a teacher’s assistant dreaming of social media fame, are hard partiers who abuse drugs.
Visiting a new doctor to score an Adderall prescription, Brittany receives the unwelcome diagnosis that she is overweight and must get healthier.
What’s a party animal to do?
She visits a gym only to find even the cheapest membership fee is out of her reach.
Despite her fear, she sets small achievable goals, and tries running on her own outdoors.
She is invited to run in a group with her neighbor Catherine, whom Brittany detests for her seemingly perfect life.
We’ve been there before on that one.
Still, old habits die hard.
After another night of partying by Gretchen, Brittany joins the group run and meets Seth, another struggling runner, learning they have equal goals. Brittany, Seth, and Catherine bond and, after a 5K run, set the ultimate goal: running in the New York City Marathon.
Bingo. Finally.
What we loved here is that Brittany created her choices and options. If the gym membership doesn’t work out, try another pathway. Consider other options. Then, make a choice.
Always remember a very important life axiom.
Your present decisions and behavior creates future great choices and options or limited and bad ones.
Let’s look at some examples.
If you take out massive student loans, once you graduate from college, you are now obligated to pay them back. That creates a massive burden and narrows the pathways of your choices and options. You now must get a great paying job to pay for rent, car payments, groceries, cable and phone bills, insurance, clothing, utilities and, drum roll, your big student loan payment.
If you didn’t have that loan, you could look for a job that you loved, that paid less.
Taking on debt is a massive factor in limiting your future choices and options.
Would you want to pursue a relationship with someone if you found out they had, say, $50,000 in student loan debt?
This brings a film to mind.
Emily the Criminal is a 2022 American crime thriller film written and directed by John Patton Ford in his feature directorial debut.
It stars Aubrey Plaza, who is believable and amazing, as the main character, with Theo Rossi, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Gina Gershon in supporting roles.
The film follows Emily Benetto, a young woman saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record, who gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles.
This film is a gem.
We have watched it at least five times.
Emily is saddled with student loan debt, can’t get a real job due to that criminal record and can’t pay her bills.
The life lesson here is powerful.
The film had its world premiere at the 38th Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 12, 2022, by Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions.
The movie received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its social commentary and Ms. Plaza’s performance. It earned four nominations at the 38th Independent Spirit Awards, including Best First Feature, with Ford winning Best First Screenplay.
We can understand why.
Early in your young life, exercise self-control.
Lose self-control and you could get a criminal record. Do that, your employment opportunities become extremely limited.
On the other hand, when you are young, you exercise self-control and you save money, now you create a pathway where you have more choices and options.
Like opening up your own business with partners, all using your own money, without taking on massive debts.
You begin networking with other people who have money and before you know it, doors begin to open up for you.
A good life is about having many choices and options. With that in mind, you can turn a good life into a great one.
Isn’t that what most of us want?
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OPENING PHOTO Irina-Bg-Shutterstock-photo-credit-Editorial-use fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_the_Criminal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany_Runs_a_Marathon
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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