Morning
Before reaching for your phone.
What do I choose to bring into today?
The Little Book of I Choose
The little book
with big outcomes.
Two words. One conscious decision. A different way of meeting life.
I choose.
Already have the book? Log into the community
I choose.
Two of the simplest words in the English language. And perhaps two of the most powerful.
Every day we encounter things we cannot control. But between what happens and how we respond exists something profoundly human: choice. I Choose is an invitation to explore that space.
The original words
The words we speak.
The thoughts we cultivate.
The energy we bring.
The choices we make.
Energy follows thought.
All influence how we experience our lives. For Ian, I Choose became a daily practice that began producing meaningful outcomes in his own life and in the lives of others.
I choose
LovePeaceCourageHopeForgivenessHealthConnectionPurposeGratitudeCompassionChangeMyself
What is I Choose
Not pretending everything is positive.
I Choose is not about denying pain, grief, fear or difficult circumstances. It is about recognising the choices that remain available to us, even on the days when very little else feels available at all.
- How will I respond?
- What will I give my attention to?
- What am I willing to release?
- What do I want to create?
- Who do I choose to become?
A grounded philosophy of intention, reflection and personal responsibility. It is not medical advice and it does not replace professional healthcare.
Meet Ian
Four decades of listening.
Ian Welch has spent more than four decades exploring healing, personal development and the relationship between mind, body, emotion and spirit. The Little Book of I Choose distils part of that experience into something deliberately simple: a practice people can actually use.
He began writing after a year of choosing one word each morning and noticing how differently the days unfolded. The book was designed by Victoria Welch, whose hand shaped every page so that it would feel like something you keep rather than something you finish.
Read Ian's storyHow I Choose works
Seven small movements, repeated until they become yours.
- 01
Pause
Notice what is happening. Nothing more than that to begin with.
- 02
Observe
What am I thinking, feeling and doing right now?
- 03
Choose
Ask the question plainly. What do I choose now?
- 04
Speak
Form the intention out loud or on paper. I choose...
- 05
Act
Take one small action consistent with that choice. Small is enough.
- 06
Reflect
Notice what changed. Sometimes very little. Sometimes everything.
07
The Intention
This is the movement that holds all others. It is not of the body, but of the heart. Bring your hands to your heart centre. Close your eyes. Feel the truth of why you are here.
This work asks for one hundred percent intention. Not ninety nine, not almost, but wholly and completely from the heart. Without it, the movements are merely gestures. With it, they become transformation.
I bring my full intention to this moment.
Experience it
What do you choose today?
These words are not magic on their own. They require the right intention, from the heart, truly, deeply. Speak them not as wishes, but as declarations. Feel them in your chest before they reach your lips.
The I Choose practice
One day, three moments.
During the day
When something difficult happens.
Pause. Breathe. Ask: what response do I choose?
Evening
Before the day closes, standing at the mirror.
The mirror version. Look into your own eyes with the compassion you would offer a beloved friend.
Moment three, evening
The mirror version.
As the day closes, stand before your mirror. Look into your own eyes with the compassion you would offer a beloved friend. This is the mirror version, the self that holds all versions of you.
Place your hands on your heart and say:
I choose to create a mirror version to heal my ego.
I choose to heal my chakra systems and my four bodies, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
Let the mirror reflect not just your face, but your intention to be whole.
Real stories
When two words become personal.
Readers have described very different experiences of the same small practice. These spaces are held for their words. We publish stories only once the person has given permission, and individual experiences vary.
Young person's story
Finding direction
Placeholder for a real, approved story. Once supplied we will publish it in the reader's own words, with their name and permission.
Story awaiting approval
Parent's story
Finding light
Light is not something we wait for. It is something we recognise, already present, already ours. This is not a story about hoping for better days. It is a story about choosing to see the light that has been here all along. A parent's own account will be published here once approved.
Story awaiting approval
Healing journey
A different relationship with life
Placeholder awaiting an approved account. Where someone describes an extraordinary result, we will present it clearly as that person's own experience.
Story awaiting approval
Life transition
Beginning again
Placeholder awaiting an approved account. Individual experiences vary.
Story awaiting approval
The book in people's lives
Kettles, coat pockets, cliff tops.
I Choose at the sanctuary
Don't just read it.
Experience it.
At Cornwall Healing Retreat & Sanctuary, I Choose becomes part of an immersive experience. Small groups, never more than ten, moving slowly through the land and through the questions.
- nature
- reflection
- walking
- water
- horses
- sound
- conversation
- fire
- the stone circle
- community
- quiet
- personal intention
Courses
The book is the beginning. The practice is the path.
✦
Reiki courses
Learn to channel healing energy with certified training.
⌖
Dowsing rod classes
Develop your sensitivity to subtle energy and earth fields.
◈
EFT tapping
Release stored trauma through gentle emotional freedom sequences.
❋
Energy and movement workshops
Breath, movement and intention in guided group sessions.
Each course is taught with the same principle that guides this book: one hundred percent intention from the heart.
Sometimes we need to leave the noise behind before we can hear ourselves clearly.
The book
The Little Book of I Choose
Written by Ian Welch. Designed by Victoria Welch.
- Paperback
- £12.00
- Signed edition
- £18.00, signed by Ian at the sanctuary
- Gift wrapped
- £3.00, linen wrap and handwritten card
- Retreat and book bundle
- Included with every day retreat
- Delivery
- UK 2 to 4 days. Worldwide on request.
In readers' words
“I didn't realise such a simple book could have such a profound impact.”
Readers have described returning to these words during some of their darkest times. The practice does not dismiss what hurts. It offers one clear choice to hold onto when the next step feels hard to see.
Share your story
Got the book? Tell us what changed.
If a choice you made from these pages shifted something, we would like to hear it. Stories are read by Ian and Victoria and only published with approval.
Already got the book?
Log into the I Choose community.
Join the other people walking this daily. See what the circle is choosing this month, get personal guidance from Ian, hear about gatherings on the land before anyone else, and read the stories of people whose lives have changed through the power of a simple intention.
Your password comes with the book. Not got a copy yet? Get the book here.
Gifting
Sometimes the most meaningful gift is a different possibility.
Birthdays
Something quieter than another object.
Life changes
A new job, a new home, a new chapter.
Bereavement
For the days that have no shape yet.
New beginnings
When someone is starting over.
Young adults
A first practice of their own.
Parents
For the ones who carry everyone else.
Friends
The one you think of first.
A difficult period
When you do not know what to say.
Stories of choosing for others
I have witnessed so many people buy this book for their friends and family, not as a casual gift, but as a transmission of something real. They buy it because they have felt the power it holds, and they want the people they love to feel it too.
Ian Welch, author of The Little Book of I Choose
You cannot choose everything that happens.
But perhaps you can choose what happens next.
I choose ______
Begin your journey