I believe that our humanness makes it difficult for us to be free from control or influence. The largest thief of our freedom is our mind. John Milton said,
The mind can make a heaven out of hell or a hell out of heaven.
Our mind traps us in numerous ways. Here is a list of six that are the most immobilizing:
- It mistakes your past for your present and future: Just because you have had an experience in the past (rejection, disappointment, etc) does not Guarantee that you will have that same experience in the future.
- It projects the worst-case scenarios onto our future. If there is one thing your brain is masterful at, it is protecting you. So if left to its own devices, it will have a field day in the world of “What if this happens? What if that happens?”
- It is your own worst critic. Ever notice how other people’s perceptions of you can vary drastically from the way you perceive yourself? Deep down inside, your brain has a desire to be great at what you do, to be loved, to be accepted. Unfortunately, it manifests those desires by being overly critical of you: “I’m so ___.” “I do not ___ enough.” “I should ___ better.”
- It tricks you into believing that what it says is true: Just because your brain says, “I’m fat.” “She doesn’t like me.” “I am never going to make it.” Does not mean those things are true!
- It allows other people’s perceptions/judgments/fears/etc. to affect how you show up in the world: One client’s parents, who of course want what is best for her, always encouraged her away from jobs that were too risky. This resulted in a 10-year career in Corporate America playing it safe, suppressing her soul’s yearning, making money and feeling insecure about her ability to make proper decisions for herself. She is just now learning to listen to her truth and cultivating self-efficiency.
- It disconnects you from your body: Your body and intuition communicate to you in quiet, subtle way. Your mind is like an alarm clock. Once it goes off, it can beep all day long. Or it hits the snooze button,–it will be quiet for a bit and then starts up again. When your body speaks to you, unless it is pressingly urgent, it comes in subtle form. A gentle tug to go in this direction. Or a joyous feeling at the thought of doing something. Since your mind can be so loud, it can overpower the deeper parts of you.
Any of these resonate with you? Tired of being plagued by your mind?
You can see how having independence and freedom to create the life you want would be hard to do with a brain like this. You want to start a new career but your mind tells you, “What if you fail?!” You want to feel good about yourself and your life, and your brain says, “Why can’t my life be more like his?” or “I am not as ____ as she is.”
Luckily, these patterns can be broken. It takes approximately 28 days to recreate a new habit.
Rachel
Rachel Lavern is a Certified LifeSuccess Coach and a business partner of Bob Proctor. She coaches individuals and businesses that want to gain greater personal or business success. She specializes in using Bob Proctor’s principles to create extraordinary growth for her clients’ lives and businesses. She provides workshops and keynote speeches across the country and teaches women entrepreneurs and business owners who want to earn a six- or seven-figure income how to become WILDLY SUCCESSFUL at selling.
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Wonderful article Rachel! It's so true that the way we think can drastically affect our lives in ways we never even anticipate. We are so conditioned to accept our thoughts and not question them, that we start to believe everything we think whether it's true or not!
Right on Rachel. Sometimes we need to re-frame our past from "I can't believe that happened to me," to "I learned a lot from that experience…thank you very much!"