Entertaining our desires as more than mere dreams requires a new effort: circuit breakers.
By Ken Ludwig — Written on Apr 07, 2015
Each of us would love to have more of the experiences we cherish, that excite us, bring us joy and love. Most spend a lifetime seeking always to be, do and have more. I find that all too often these desires get no farther along than wishes, than dreams.
Everyone has "a life" and it usually consists of a good many things we do over and over, consuming each and every single day. Each activity has its very own sense of importance or even an urgency and a transitive confidence. As we repeat the same actions, over time, they actually become our default thinking and our habitual behaviors—for good or bad.
The more we become creatures of habit, the less likely we are ever going to experience our desires for more. We are literally stuck. We are very much frozen in the patterns of our subconscious mind and its chemically addicting neurotransmitters. Our habits have mental as well as physical circuits that keep them moving in a very comfortable cycle.
The cycle will continue only as long as we allow it to continue. Even though it may be the most comfortable place in the world for us mentally and physically, it plays unendingly in a continuous loop, rarely allowing for any divergence from its path.
Entertaining our desires as more than mere dreams requires a new effort. If our habitual life is running on an endless circuit, then we need to inject some type of circuit breaker to allow for anything new to be experienced.
Circuit Breakers Come In Many Forms:
- It can be as simple as repeating, "Stop it" to break the cycle of a recurring thought.
- Getting out of bed a half hour earlier to exercise.
- Rising from your desk every 90 minutes to stretch.
- Quitting an unsatisfying job to start that entrepreneurial endeavor.
- Sitting down to write that long thought about book or booking that long postponed vacation.
The ability to be, do and have more than our experience has allowed to this point is really a matter of choice. Usually it is a bigger and far more uncomfortable choice than we might have planned or even thought possible, but it is in making a choice that we open up the possibilities of expansion.
It is not uncommon to experience a bit of confusion surrounding the direction a new choice might take. Once again, I come to my personal daily practice for clarity, but that may be another choice that you are not yet ready to make.
I would suggest you simply take a few moments and give your new choice an opportunity to come clear.
4 Ways To Embrace Your New Choice:
- Sit quietly with pen and paper and contemplate what form or direction you think your new choice will take.
- Close your eyes and see your new choice however it appears in the moment and allow it to develop from there.
- It may be perfectly clear or it may be clear as mud, but disregard the mind's propensity for instant gratification and be patient with yourself.
- Jot down some notes of what came to you and then take a few moments later in the day or tomorrow or on subsequent mornings to revisit your contemplation.
The most important thing is to be willing to revisit this new territory every day for as long as it takes to acquire some clarity. By the way, that does not mean a blue print or an entire business plan. You are simply looking for a first step or perhaps two steps, but you do not need to go farther than that.
When you can see that first step—take it. The next step will be clearer once you have started moving that it ever could have before.
I have no grand illusions that this will work for all of us. Some have more deeply rooted habits than others, some habits are not so easily interrupted and some of us will clearly need some help - a coach or guide. But make no mistake, regardless of how daunting the road may seem, you are in total control of the direction you take.
It has been said that no one can go back and change the beginning, but you can jump in at any time and create a new story, a new journey. We all know that it is not the destination that matters. The joy is in the journey. Set a new course and enjoy the trip.