The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to freedom is courage.” – Thucydides
There are daily patterns that can become habits. Do you always take the same route to work? Do you eat the same breakfast cereal or do you find it easy to not decide and default to peanut butter on sourdough toast? Are these really a detriment to your best self? Or are these habits part of something deeper, connected to self-worth?
Old Patterns: a path to high performance or a limitation?
Some might argue that the decision to streamline your day is exactly the right thing to do to conserve energy and focus on more important tasks, real goals and things that matter. They define it as high performance by reducing decision-making, creating more time to focus on your goals. Yes, but are we becoming a disciplined machine? or are we being ground up by one, losing our passion for life with such rigorous schedules? Resistance is futile!
So how do you break free from deeply ingrained habits and patterns, especially the ones you know are holding you back from high performance states? or from being a better you? from truly experiencing freedom?
If you see the nature of the chosen routine to be helpful and needed to inspire you to become more productive, then see it that way and make a gentle shift in your priorities. Choose one small change and begin to implement it. For example, you want to get in better shape but have been terrible at scheduling in your fitness. Take 5 minutes in the morning and do some stretches, a plank etc. While it might seem like you aren’t doing much of anything, the few minutes spent on yourself will begin to change the way you tune into how you are feeling and a gentle way to energize how your day begins.
On the other hand, if you see and recognize old patterns as limiting, then consider this idea. Could it be that you are energetically becoming another version of yourself? Are things that you used to like and relate to losing their grip on your attention? These changes arrive in many subtle ways. Are you suddenly bored with something that you used to spend a lot of time doing? Once upon a time, it was easy to indulge in the time and now, you feel as if the time could be better spent. Are you noticing that the foods that you love change? Can you now see your habits and the obvious gap between your present self and the person you are meant to be? Yes, you can do better! It’s like peeling back an onion and discarding the tacky layers. All you need to do is be present which allows you to move with the energy rather than resist it. A caterpillar may not be prepared for flight but he has the inner capability to transform everything about itself to grow the wings it needs.
Breaking free from strongholds.
A life-altering event can alter your perception of what you want to become and how you want to live your life. But do you really need that to happen to change your patterns? It think it is possible to heal our patterns and step out of our brokenness to another version of self by the power of our own imagination. Just as a caterpillar can change its physiology and become a butterfly, visualizing a Version 2.0 of yourself and stepping into that state of being with your imagination first, activates a change. You break free from old version habits without the drama of a life-altering event. You see the new you emerge, fully empowered with new ways of living, a new wave of energy.
Freedom lies in being bold.
Robert Frost
Choosing new patterns that serve you.
Scientists use the term natural selection to explain the survival of the fittest, natural die-off rates or genetic pools that triumph. But in this world of habits and breaking free of strongholds, natural selection takes on new meaning here. Deciding what habits improve your productivity, well-being and discarding those that get in your way, that are causing dis-ease or eroding the quality of your life, is empowering yourself on a new level. No longer victims of conditioning, we can shift out of it whenever we “perceive” things as being poor choices and make energetic changes that will help us heal and accelerate their removal.
Identity shifting, reality surfing.
Parallel Universes of Self by Frederick Dodson is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the concept of reality surfing. It uses the same idea of stepping into the reality you wish to create, that I mentioned above, but with a new twist. Ask yourself what does this Version 2.0 look like? What do they do? Where do they live? What is their version of happiness and freedom look like? Then, take small steps to create it.
The detail of Dodson’s book exceeds the purpose of this blog post. But, I would encourage exploration if you are interested in quantum physics and theories about different time lines.
Small changes, Big results.
If there is one thing that stands out about the new life and person, then choose to adopt that nature. Small changes to your perception, habits and choices will begin to shift the old self toward the new ideal self expression. It might be as simple as being a very private and shy person and becoming more comfortable with putting yourself in situations that scare you a bit like Zoom calls or being on video or in front of a camera for a podcast. Small steps, big inner changes.
Living in the present.
Does living in the present and being present get in the way of transitioning into a new energy or new version of you? It seems illogical to assume the patterns of another state of being without causing some kind of conflict in the present. Or does it?
What if the new template of energy can be felt as if it were in the present? Here, there is no conflict between being and becoming. No longer is there a challenge to choose. It just requires knowing what that new state really is and feeling it, as if it were really here.
Recognizing signs of progress.
Discomfort with old ways is a sign of progress. As you slough off old habits and time-pigs and step outside of old expectations and behaviour and focus on creating freedom, what is progress will become more visible to you. More information on how to streamline your life towards where you want to go will pop up. You’ll notice more coincidences and acceleration down that one path that interests you.
You never know how close you are to an incredible and positive change.
Reward systems.
Installing a reward system for changes to your patterns are a necessity. If you are consistently noticing you are leaving behind old habits that limited you, give yourself a reward. Recognize and reinforce any behaviour that merges with your goals. Give yourself time off. A nice coffee. A walk in nature. Listen to great music. Read a book. Soak in a bath. Go surfing. Keep moving and transforming.
Faith conquers an impatient Ego [acronym for E.G.O.=edge God out]
Sometimes we have to walk through a desert before we achieve the results we are wanting. After breaking free from strongholds of limiting patterns and beliefs, it is logical to become impatient and want to give up. But, you never know how close you are to victory, to massive changes and results. Keep the faith. Trust in what you are feeling as the emerging Version 2.0 is already here, sweeping behind you and soon to become more visible. Pushing ourselves in many directions to capture a win defeats the trust in our outcome. It is our own ego that needs immediate results. Stay open to intuitive leads. Act” as if” and the rest will unravel as it needs to.
Breaking free from old patterns and installing new ones isn’t always easy but it is possible. If we feel frustrated by conditions, look at conditioning. Maybe there is something that we keep doing that is getting in the way? Stay open to new ideas and people who can help you. It might be overhearing a conversation, seeing someone else with similar patterns make a change and we are curious about what they did or by reading an article like this one that might lead us to explore relaxation, meditation and working with your own energy to heal “old self” wounds.
Have a brave and brilliant week.