Fossils and You!

Hello, My Friends,

We have had some glorious weather this week. Hubby and I went exploring different beaches this week. We found one with a beautiful little waterfall, flat black sand as far you can see. The sea was almost fish-able, and the rocks that had fallen from the cliffs were intriguing, the way the layers piled onto of each other, the fossilized shells embedded in hardened stone.

Some of our habits are a bit like those rocks.

I’m sure the shellfish didn’t want to be immortalized, stuck in stone.

Once upon a time they were living and breathing, going about their daily business of collecting food. When an event happened that ended everything for them. Now they are a relic of the past, that tells us a story about a life before we existed.

What will the history of our habits say about us?

Interesting fact. History is often told through the bias of the one telling it. How I perceive an event, and how a child perceives the same event can be very different. How some-one looking on from the outside interprets that same event will be determined by their world view. Some-one having lived through a trauma will have a different view of the event than a person reading about it.

Today I want to share how our habits can stop us in our tracks. We all have habits, the things we do without thinking about them. Some have been trained into us, like brushing our teeth. Others we picked up from observation. On the train to the city a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a young boy wearing his school uniform, I’d say he’d have been about six, he walked beside his dad who towered over him. The lad chattered happily away with his dad, who bent sideways at times to hear what was being said. I watched with interest as they fell into stride with each other, the lad skipping now and then to keep up. This young boy already the stature of his dad, he stood straight, shoulders back, and held himself with a degree of composure even when he was skipping and jumping. I would think that this boy, walking like his dad would be an unconscious act, to him it is just the way they move, not really thought about or looked at.

Our habits can be very subtle. They show up when we least expect them.

A habit is formed by an action repeated over and over. Have you tried changing a habit? Is it easy?

If you write with your right hand, have you tried writing with your left? Or visa versa? Does it work very well? How does it feel?

What stops you from continuing to write with your non dominant hand? Is it that your words are unreadable? Could it be it’s so much faster to write with your dominant hand? How did you decide which was your dominant hand? Was it decided for you as a child? How long have you been writing this way?

Writing is a habit, you learned it, it’s a skill. You could learn to use your non dominant hand if you chose to. Why do you choose not to?

You may have heard the analogy that your brain is like an iceberg.

An iceberg sits in the ocean, the icecap that you see above the water is about 20% of the entire iceberg, the other 80% is where it can’t be seen underwater. It was the unseen iceberg that sunk the Titanic.

It is the unseen – unconscious part of your brain, the 80% that determines what you do, the conscious 20% is what you use to reason and think, learn and use to decipher what your senses are telling you.

The 80% subconscious mind is used to store all the information you have ever read, watched, heard, felt, seen, tasted or touched. This area is your personal super computer.

As a child your super computer didn’t have a filter, everything was taken as real and believed.

This is why young children appear to be so gullible, they cannot distinguish between what is true and what is fantasy. As you grow and mature you become aware and able to determine what is fact and what isn’t. However your super computer holds onto everything, and if your brain is not reprogrammed it will over-ride any action that you are taking that it deems is unfamiliar and likely to cause harm.

This is the main reason why changing your behaviour is so hard. The Subconscious mind holds your beliefs about who think you are? What you think you deserve in life? How you deserve to be treated? What type of career you should pursue? The type of people you mix with. Your subconscious mind has a finger in every aspect of your life.

Have you ever wondered why you can’t seem to earn more money? Have a look at what you really think and believe about money?

Have you ever wondered why you keep choosing the man/woman you do for a partner? Have a look at who you believe you are, and who you believe you are worthy off.

Have you felt like you just weren’t good enough? Pretty enough? Rich enough? Slim enough? Smart enough? Talented enough? Well enough? Active enough? You name it. Not enough.

All these beliefs are in your subconscious mind, and your thoughts are the key to begin to reprogramme your subconscious mind.

In future episodes I will share with you some techniques that have worked for me in changing the programming that determines where I am heading, what I believe about myself and my abilities to have what I really want from my life.

Remember: Thoughts change beliefs, when repeated often enough a new thought creates a new neural pathway in your brain and this is what creates the feelings that allow you to have the drive to create the actions, that will create the new habits which lead you to a more fulfilling life.

My challenge for you this week is to have a look at what you do and why you do it? Is it taking you in the direction you want to go? Look for the thought and feeling behind your action. Does it help you get what you want in your life now? If not find a better thought and practice it until becomes natural and easy.

Till next time: Be curious about yourself, Be your best authentic self.

And leave me a review if you like this.

Linda Codlin.