Now You Know
Too much of what we put our attention to is useless stuff. Seriously, I am including myself in this even though I believe I try real hard to not do this, but I can't help but catch myself routinely doing mindless things.
It seems all organisms have a propensity to be mindless. It's an evolutionary feature. Most of the other animals and organisms operate more off of instinct and response to environmental stimuli. Humans do the same things. Most of us go through our lives as automatons. The difference is, we have the capacity to break free from that. The million dollar question is how, and that answer seems to be between our ears.
Our behaviors become routines and habits once we do them often enough. What happens if a routine or behavior is mindlessly bad for us? We still keep doing it even when we can consciously know and admit that we wouldn't like to or even shouldn't. So what gives?
Whenever we have a new thought, experience, or memory of an experience, something chemically and physiologically happens in our brains. Hormones and neurotransmitters are released that make us feel a certain way and we come to think about those feelings once exposed often enough to to them. This becomes a habit. Even if a habit is not good for us, our brain doesn't make a distinction. This is partly why bad habits are so hard to break. They are a literal physical part of us. The thing is, if we form good habits, they are just as hard to break and this is our goal. To create as many good and productive habits as we can to live our lives.
The best thing for us all is to not form bad habits, but in the real world, this is just not a reality. The first thing we need to make changes is to acknowledge this process of habit formation. Then, we can start to visualize the change we want and this will actually start those chemical and physiological changes we want.
The power of thought is undervalued and needs to be taken more seriously and given more credit for its capability. You have to believe something can be done before you do it. Once you start to envision yourself doing what you want, it feels more comfortable to try and do that thing. It's tricking your mind to stop thinking about what it's been conditioned to do and to recondition it to do something differently. No other animal has this capacity for growth or change. It is this process that has made humans the dominant species. It's what gave us the airplane, the wheel, fire, the Internet, computers, smart phones, apps, and soon driverless cars, smart homes, the Internet of things etc.
You now have a choice. We can't eliminate our mindlessness, but we can try to lessen it and work to be mindful of those things we want to be mindful of. This has the capacity to completely change your life. You are armed with the seeds. It is up to you to plant, add water, and to cultivate. It is entirely your choice. Just know that from this moment forward, you have no one to blame for anything you don't like in your life but yourself, because now you know.
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
It seems all organisms have a propensity to be mindless. It's an evolutionary feature. Most of the other animals and organisms operate more off of instinct and response to environmental stimuli. Humans do the same things. Most of us go through our lives as automatons. The difference is, we have the capacity to break free from that. The million dollar question is how, and that answer seems to be between our ears.
Our behaviors become routines and habits once we do them often enough. What happens if a routine or behavior is mindlessly bad for us? We still keep doing it even when we can consciously know and admit that we wouldn't like to or even shouldn't. So what gives?
Whenever we have a new thought, experience, or memory of an experience, something chemically and physiologically happens in our brains. Hormones and neurotransmitters are released that make us feel a certain way and we come to think about those feelings once exposed often enough to to them. This becomes a habit. Even if a habit is not good for us, our brain doesn't make a distinction. This is partly why bad habits are so hard to break. They are a literal physical part of us. The thing is, if we form good habits, they are just as hard to break and this is our goal. To create as many good and productive habits as we can to live our lives.
The best thing for us all is to not form bad habits, but in the real world, this is just not a reality. The first thing we need to make changes is to acknowledge this process of habit formation. Then, we can start to visualize the change we want and this will actually start those chemical and physiological changes we want.
The power of thought is undervalued and needs to be taken more seriously and given more credit for its capability. You have to believe something can be done before you do it. Once you start to envision yourself doing what you want, it feels more comfortable to try and do that thing. It's tricking your mind to stop thinking about what it's been conditioned to do and to recondition it to do something differently. No other animal has this capacity for growth or change. It is this process that has made humans the dominant species. It's what gave us the airplane, the wheel, fire, the Internet, computers, smart phones, apps, and soon driverless cars, smart homes, the Internet of things etc.
You now have a choice. We can't eliminate our mindlessness, but we can try to lessen it and work to be mindful of those things we want to be mindful of. This has the capacity to completely change your life. You are armed with the seeds. It is up to you to plant, add water, and to cultivate. It is entirely your choice. Just know that from this moment forward, you have no one to blame for anything you don't like in your life but yourself, because now you know.
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
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