Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Breaking the habit...

... Habits protect themselves by staying hidden or unconscious, but then, someone points them out to you, or you're caught in some embarrassing situation, and they're out, mirrored, as you realize you've been foolish, comfortably foolish for some time.

It's important to feel conformable, but it's disappointing to find out that you didn't prepare yourself for something really important because you chose same old same, the usual way. And it's disappointing and sad when it's gone and over.

Our Ego loves habits. It feels normal, and to feel normal is what we all search for when we're growing up. We just want to be normal, and only if we're lucky, maybe we can have something else special about us. And society loves Egos! Oh yes, Egos buy, depend and support other Egos. We are all fundamentally trained to equate our self-worth with our achievements. The greater achievements the more valuable you feel, the bigger the Ego gets, but this kind of self-value is so limiting. To achieve a goal it's great, and goals are key to keep us motivated and happy, but do you really think you're better than everyone else just because you did this and that? .. drop that need to be better than others. Accept you're one of many, and as so, treat yourself with respect and empathy as you would treat any other.

Try, instead of using all your energy to feed an hungry Ego, to learn how to use your attention, your focus. First realize where your attention is. What thoughts keep showing up, on repeat, what's your position in the world, presence, attitude? Stand back, witness yourself. And prepare yourself to be astonished by how little you' are aware of yourself. This is a small step for humanity, but a huge one to yourself. It's the only way you have to know what you believe in, what you stand for and where you're heading.

Dare to question the habitual, and be brave to uncover, undress all the layers you've been putting on to cover your real aims and dreams.

When we focus on the external outcome of our efforts, we're left at the mercy of chance. If things go well we're super happy, when we mess things up, frustration kicks in... make it instead a habit of focusing your effort in learning, just learning and growing with  that. Shifting from external towards internal motivation gives you the power to determine value and worth, which builds self-esteem which creates a solid core to feel confident, and with self-confidence comes Power. Power to break habits, to start again, to catch that big but beautiful wave.



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