It’s Too Dark in There!
Rather than explore the murky depths of our own soul, we would rather continue to look "out there" in hopes of finding someone else who might "crawl inside our heads" and fix us.
So we buy the latest and the greatest self-help package that catches our eye, but in short order we're back to where we started from.
Did you know that many people never even use the programs they purchase? These people are defeated before they ever get started!
And even for the most determined people who actually do everything suggested, the results have been fragile, artificial and short-lived. Why is that?
Ideas Must Be Planted in a Fertile Mind
It’s not so much that these reprogramming methods are faulty. It's just that the people who want and need these tools lack the basic sense of self-worth that would allow any desirable ideas to take root.
It's almost as if there were an invisible demon inside shoveling out the good stuff as quickly as we can put it in! It's a bit like trying to plant flowers in a chalk garden. They will not grow.
This is why it is crucial to first expose and release the underlying subconscious beliefs that are holding us back. The circumstances behind how and why these harmful beliefs got lodged in the first place are as unique and varied as the individuals themselves, so a "one-size-fits-all" approach won't work.
You Are a Unique Individual with a Unique Personal Tale.
It is only by uncovering the details of your own personal history that you will be able to permanently "unplug" and disempower your crippling beliefs.
What Are You Going To Do About It?
I’m reminded of a story that I first heard years ago on a tape series from one of my favorite mentors, Dr. Deepak Chopra. It goes something like this . . .
Elephants born in captivity are restrained by a chain which attaches one of their legs to a metal spike driven into the ground. This prevents them from straying away. They become accustomed to the fact that, as long as the chain and spike are present, they are unable to move.
As they grow older, the minds of these baby elephants become programmed. When they see the spike and chain, they "believe" and accept that they cannot move.
They become so conditioned that when their owners tie them down with nothing more than a flimsy rope attached to a wooden post or a small tree, they make no effort to move away, because they are already convinced that they can’t.
In truth, their actual power as adults is so great that they could easily snap the rope or uproot the tree and just walk away with the whole thing! Their programming, however, prevents them from even making an attempt.
Does This Remind You of Anyone You Know?
We are all very much like these elephants. We allow severely limiting beliefs, which have no basis in reality, to inhibit our actions and even our imaginations.
We are controlled by false childhood assumptions we made (or that someone else made for us) about our ability, power or even our inherent worth.
Until we muster the courage and the energy to seek out and challenge these outdated notions, we will continue to be as “imprisoned” as these elephants.
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." - Plato .
By Rosella Aranda