Unlike many other creatures, humans come with very little
in the way of hard-wired behaviors.
Rather than being guided by instinct, we humans rely on learned
behaviors and we learn those behaviors from other humans. This process begins in utero and continues
throughout life. Most of our core ideas
are laid down before the age of six when we begin to develop critical thought. So, who we are today mirrors the psyches of influential
people that we met as babies. Our
assumptions about the world were installed then. Being assumptions, they are invisible to us
but they run our behaviors just the same.
When I look back at my life, I see some repeating patterns
that I don’t like. I’d like to change
them. I know that deeply held beliefs control
my thinking, choices and behavior. The problem
is that these beliefs are unconscious. They
were laid down while I was unaware and incapable of individual choice. They are invisible to me.
I’ve learned a way to surface these beliefs. I bring a pattern of outcomes to mind, like
my tendency to keep myself financially minimized, and I ask the question, “What
would a person have to believe to get this outcome?” Then, I start to imagine
possible answers to my question until I sense that I am getting close to the
truth. This is all theoretical but it
can get me to the point where I can begin to install remedies to those
undesirable beliefs and change my outcomes.
Sometimes, awareness alone is enough to pop these
beliefs. When the infantile thought
meets the light of day it may be so out-of-sync with my adult self that it is
laughed off the stage.
