Change is “Good”

I generally don’t attach labels, such as “good” or “bad” in my use of language, but in this case, I will; solely to illustrate that change is something we should all embrace.

Simple tools – catch and release those pesky limiting beliefs

Continuing from the last post on Our Habitual Patterns, one tool to disrupt our subconscious patterns is to create a brand-new experience. Something our subconscious cannot place into the box of our past, known experiences, automatically label as “good” or “bad”, and then react accordingly… in the same way we always have. Creating a new experience helps stop the roller-coaster of chemical/emotional reactions that generate the same-old feelings and habitual experiences.

Every morning, you wake up on the same side of the bed and do the same morning routine. You check social media, shower, make a coffee, dread going into work, and then drive into work the same way with the same dreaded thoughts about facing the same people who continually frustrate you in the same way. All of this is a ripple-effect of a series of chemical and neurological sequences initiated by a single action – waking up to go to work. And it results in you getting stressed out each morning as you prepare for work. It also sets the stage for your experiences at work.

Expect resistance

Don’t want to experience the same old drudgery day after day? Then change it up! Get up on the other side of the bed. Sit alone, without distraction and in silence, for 2 measly minutes and just breathe. Do this before showering. Skip social media all together; in fact, don’t check it until lunchtime for a change! Choose a change that is feasible for you and just do it. Start small.

PS – to help understand how the breath is your ally on your path to positive change, check out my talk on Subconscious Beliefs and Love.

The first few times you take action to change, your mind will resist! Absolutely. It will come up with a myriad of excuses as to why the change you’re starting is stupid or how it sucks. And this is totally normal! The mind (the ego/protective personality) wants to KNOW what to expect. It likes the known… even if the known is feeling like crap every day on our way into work!

Seriously. The protective personality is happy being miserable. That’s why people continually repeat painful patterns (consider the abused who will not leave the abuser). There is comfort in the known – even when the known is uncomfortable or painful.

On validating…

A tool to accompany consciously implementing change is validation.

According to Google Dictionary, validation is “the action of checking or proving the validity or accuracy of something; the action of making or declaring something legally or officially acceptable; recognition or affirmation that a person or their feelings or opinions are valid or worthwhile.”

Bottom line – tell yourself that it’s normal and OK for you to resist change and to be skeptical (and maybe even a little afraid) of starting something new! Yes – it sounds slightly silly. But trust me, it works! It’s so simple and yet so effective! Acknowledge and validate your mind’s resistance before you implement the change, and continue to validate each time your mind starts to ramble with resistance after you’ve begun.

We all talk to ourselves; most of the times, it’s negative talk. Say something to yourself that will do some good. Validation is huge. Definitely worthy of a separate post.

Try it!

I’m not saying that creating a new experience/routine in your life and validating your mind’s resistance to it is going to change your life; but I am saying that it will start building a sense of trust in yourself… in your own mind about being open and receptive to new, unfamiliar experiences (which, by the way, will open a whole new world for you) and that it’s all OK. AND it will provide an opportunity to create a new story about your day. About your life!

You are not your mind

And yes, I talk about the mind like it’s something other than you. There is YOU and then there is your mind, which is a tool that you have in order function in life. YOU are not your mind. YOU exist deeper than your mind. You have a mind. You have a body. You are not either of those.

And you know this. You know this because you’ve had ongoing conversations with yourself inside your head. Everyone has the crazy person living in their “head” at some point in their life… if not for their whole life! If you were your mind, you would not be able to observe the mental chatter of the mind – who is doing the talking and who is doing the listening?!

Whoa. Ok. That’s getting a little deep. I’ll stop here.

I’m just saying, let your mind do what it was intended to do:

• Ramble
• Categorize and judge
• Analyze
• Accept or reject

And all for the sake of protecting you from real danger… physical, mental and emotional.

BUT…

Only let your mind do its job when it’s needed. When you’re making a change for the better, tell your mind to shut up and trust you. You’ve got this.

Questions? Let me know!

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]