When I think about choices I have made in the past relative to my career, relationship status, or family dynamics, I see patterns.
In the big picture, much of my life is a bright, sun-shiney story. Successful, blessed, loved, with rich travel experiences beyond measure:
- my friendships are solid
- I live on a gorgeous beach
- I’m passionate about my career
- and I can borrow my neighbour’s dog for puppy therapy at anytime.
But the lesser told side would reveal experiences that, when they unfold, left me frustrated, confused, disappointed, angry and bitter:
- Relationships that turned sour
- Business endeavors that fell short
- Living situations that didn’t serve my well-being
Both sides are results of choices I have made and patterns I tend to follow: the good, the bad, and the disenchanting.
Most of us carry stories of personal highs and lows. And most of us don’t care for experiencing the lows: Mistakes, challenges, changes.
Results that bum us out.
The good news is that we can untangle ourselves.
We can break the pattern, do the repair work, and experience a refreshing change. We gain knowledge and deepen our insight.
My sunshine-y days are most definitely the result of effort I have put in to the repair work. To knock out the repetitive, unfulfilling patterns in my mindset, there’s a range of effort I put in.
I connect with like-minded people who help me talk through and work through the hurdles I face. I tweak my routine by removing roles, tasks and behaviours that leave me feeling stagnant.
I introduce new practices that clear my head and enable me to make better choices, such as writing more or exercising differently (jogging instead of yoga, or yoga instead of jogging). I purposely choose helpful books or articles to read, or listen to inspiring podcasts encouraging me to consciously make changes. Little by little, these changes take affect. The repair work begins to create the kind of life I want and things work out better for me.
Anyone can do this.
We can break the repetitive routine that doesn’t serve us or make us happy people. We can learn how to repair our mindset to create a life in line with what our authentic self desires.
But to begin the repair work, we have to look in the face the thing that repeatedly breaks.
Then do the work to fix it. ?
Photo Credit: Gemilang Sinuyudhan, Unsplashed