What are three of the most dangerous words in the English language! “I am right!”
We have become quite satisfied, comfortable with ourselves.
And we believe this even though we dislike many of the circumstances in our lives.
I started by asking the big question:
What do you want?
Then went on to suggest that the practical starting point of real change is self-observation.
It is self-observation that tends to reveal the deceit in all of us.
So real change eludes us, even though we feel dissatisfied.
We feel this way, not knowing the cause of the displeasure does not lie in the situations that displease, but in the very self, the identity we accept so readily.
We fail to realise that we surround ourselves with what we believe is our true image – how we identify ourselves.
And it’s the way you identify yourself, your unconscious beliefs, not the way you behave, that plays a significant role in your ability to get what you want.
Self-observation reveals this contradiction.
And this needs to be understood before personal transformation has any chance of taking hold.
Just stop for a moment, and notice your inner state.
What are you thinking?
What feelings can you identify?
You know, it is so important to know where you are within your own mind.
Most of us like to think that we are kind and caring, flexible and tolerant, and blessed with other wonderful virtues.
But an uncritical observation to our reactions in life might reveal a slightly different picture.
Perhaps we are not so kind and caring, maybe we are inflexible and not that tolerant.
And it is this sense of self you must first accept and then set about changing.
Fundamental change requires this inner work.
Once you have discovered, by uncritically observing your reactions to life, you have something to aim for, and then change can begin to take place.
So, define how you want to be rather than simply accepting the way you are – your secret self.
This is fundamental to change.
So, take some time and think again.
What do you want?
And how will you know you’ve got it?
Once this aim is clearly defined, then you can take the next step.
Whenever an entirely new set of reactions has entered your life, a change of consciousness has taken place.
You are now different.
More on this next time.