How to Create Long Lasting Change
Last Thursday I released the first post in the Rewriting the Script series. Rewriting the script is the third tool in the introspection tool kit.
Introspection is all about looking deep inside ourselves to discover more about who we authentically are. I like the expression that introspection is really internal inspection.
The first collection of tools in the introspection toolkit start their application with the process of developing awareness. Awareness which unlocks acceptance, for it is only when we accept reality that we can accept our responsibility to make different choices that will bring about a new reality.
This is a process that will take as long as it needs to take. There is no fast track or short cut.
You see, a fast track or a shortcut implies that the journey has a fixed destination, and the thing with introspection is that the more you do it, the more you will come to unlock and know you true potential as a human. The more you unlock the more you can grow.
The destination is relative to your awareness and development… so don’t worry about the destination… choose to focus on the present moment. Who knows where you will end up!
It is however wise to have a few tricks up you sleeve!
A Short Sharp Shock
Anyone that has trained at a gym knows that you can’t keep doing the same set of exercises for too long. If we stick to a set pattern of training, even if we are slowly increasing the weight, our body will learn what to expect. It will become conditioned and tailored to the question that we are asking.
To bring about further physical development, we need to change things up. Catch our body off guard and keep it guessing. Our mind is no different.
The introspection toolkit is a long-term strategy for self-discovery and development. It is important though to keep things fresh and break through any periods of inertia. Here are a few tips for doing this:
Create a pattern interrupt moment
Break your routine and do something that you really want to do. Not something that you feel you have to do. This could be as simple as cooking a meal that you have been craving, going for a walk some place you have wanted to for a while, listening to an album on full blast, training or working out in a different place, or spending some time in quiet solitude.
Say fuck you to your routine and scratch that itch. Let yourself expand
Do Nothing
When it all feels too much, just stop. Make a conscious decision to pause and breathe. This could literally be for just 30 seconds. The important thing here is that you are the one that is deciding when to stop, and you are the one that is deciding when to start again.
You are choosing to take control of the only thing that you can control. Yourself.
Write a Journal
Simply put pen to paper and write about anything that want to come out. If it is in your mind, put it on paper. Spit it out and look at it.
Release your thoughts on to the page, then close your eyes, take a deep breath and listen to the universe…
Do you want to screw it up and burn it, or fold it up and save it?
Do what feels right to you. You write the rules!
A Warning Shot of Change
I will let you discover this little tip by reading my short post about it here.
Becoming an Agent of Change
When it comes to change, it is important to have a range of different strategies to deploy; you don’t need to worry about becoming an expert though. They only subject you need to be an expert in is you.
Being an expert is knowing when and how to push the right buttons to expand your own mind.
The foundation for the future that you want is build is found in the present moment, inside you. Using the materials that already exist inside you.
You have everything that you could ever need to be the best version of you that you can be. You just need to look inside and find it.
Think about this like renovating a house… If we try to develop ourselves by using reactive tactics which simply try and switch our behaviours (like CBT or NLP); yes, we can achieve the look that we want in our house, but all we are really doing is papering over the cracks.
If we want to give ourselves the opportunity to renovate a house to it’s potential, we need to strip it right back to the solid foundation and build out from there – using tools like the introspection toolkit.
You need to pick you battles though and it is often wise to paper over the cracks in some rooms to give yourself the head space to focus on properly renovating the other rooms. You will get to them in time…
This is the art of prioritisation in action where you choose where to focus step by step, systematically selecting the appropriate strategy to maximise the impact in your current workspace.
Life is a game. A game that we win by keeping our opponent guessing.
Your toughest opponent is you.
Enjoy, for now.