To start most cars, you turn the key and the engine roars to
life. To an Amazonian tribesman, this would look like magic. But
under the hood there are hundreds of moving parts and processes working in
harmony to make the successful starting of the car’s engine possible.
The turning of the key
starts a series of processes that can be broken down into a logical
order. First this happens causing that to happen. And that causes
the next thing to happen.
Tip the first in a row
of dominoes and the rest will fall. Could your choices and actions be broken
down as simply as this?
Understanding the logical order of events that
occur to produce your reactions in life could provide insight for transforming
the results you achieve.
Circumstances seem to
turn the key. There are millions of bits of information to be perceived
in any moment. But the only ones that get our conscious attention are
those that we perceive as important. When a circumstance occurs as important,
it is compared to what we have already decided about similar circumstances in
the past.
What have you decided
about trees for example? Trees provide shade. Trees have
leaves. Trees can be climbed. Trees can be used for firewood.
Trees are beautiful. Some trees have edible fruit. Trees can
provide lumber for building things. Trees are tall. Trees behave
predictably. They usually stand around harmlessly.
Curiosity drives the
accumulation of knowledge. Once you are finished making all of your
decisions about trees, you don’t have to think about trees any more. You
know about trees. There is no more need for curiosity. All of that
“knowledge” is filed away in a box in your subconscious. Now, most of the
time you don’t even notice trees. You don’t have to. You’ve
already figured them out. Your conscious attention is no longer
required. Trees are neither a threat or an opportunity. “Tree” is
now a concept.
Until one falls over and
crushes your car. Suddenly tree is no longer a word that represents all
you have decided about it. Now it is on your car and your life is
affected by it. Tree is part of a circumstance that has your attention.
In fact, you will never think of trees the same again. Trees have
leaves. Sometimes they fall on your car.
When something happens
to get your attention you react to it. You may not be aware that you
react to it. But just as the turning key starts the car whether you
understand why it starts your car or not, circumstances cause you to react.
The circumstance occurs
and gets your attention. You interpret the circumstance and automatically
give it meaning based on what you have decided about similar circumstances in
the past. That interpretation occurs as thoughts and judgments
about the circumstance. Your body reacts to your thoughts and
judgments. Your body’s reaction is the physical and energetic
response to the meaning you have given the circumstance. You take action
or avoid action according to how your interpretation makes you feel.
And that re-action produces results in the world.
When this process occurs
and creates undesired results, most of us try to control the
circumstance. Just as the key seems to start the car, the
circumstance seems to cause the result. But a key has no power to make
anything happen until it is placed in the ignition and turned. If the
ignition were not wired to a mechanism that fires the motor, the key would have
no impact. Circumstance must be wired to meaning before they can
get your attention.
Most circumstances are
out of your control. Try to stop that tree from falling on your car and
see what happens. However, the meaning or interpretation you give to a
circumstance is within your control.
By bringing attention to your interpretations of
circumstances, you can change the results that you get.
- Circumstances occur.
- We attach meaning to the circumstance.
- We experience physical sensations in response to the
meaning we have attached to the circumstance.
- We react to those physical sensations: we act or avoid
acting based on how we feel.
- Our actions have an impact on our environment.
Results are the automatic and predictable consequence to this chain of
events.
In reverse order:
- We get what we get in life. Results happen
- because we do what we do or don’t do what we don’t
do. We act
- because we feel what we feel. We feel
- because we think what we think. We think
- because we believe what we believe.
Circumstances have no
meaning until we give them meaning based on what we believe. A belief is
what we previously decided about something the circumstance reminds us of.
By getting curious again and taking a fresh and
open look at trees we can actually experience a tree.
And in that moment
of presence and conscious awareness, we may see with fresh eyes and an open
mind what we have never seen.
The label on the box is
“Tree.” Inside the box is everything that you have decided about
trees. And this is as it should be. That’s how your brain
works. If it didn’t work that way you would be too busy falling in love
with that tree in front of you to notice the saber tooth tiger who is about to
have you for dinner.
If your career is
problematic, find the box labeled, “Work” or
"Career". Open it up and get curious again. Take a
look at what you decided about work before you sealed the box and stored it
away in your subconscious. Use your curiosity to take a fresh look.
Before you seal the box back up, be sure that you get rid of anything that
isn’t true and accurate.
If what you have decided
about “work” or “money” or “marriage” or any other box in your storage unit has
you reacting in a way that produces problematic results, it’s time to get
curious again. Make sure that everything in the box makes sense and matches
current reality. If it doesn’t, get rid of it. If it isn’t serving
you why keep it?
Change the meaning that you give to
circumstances and you will change… what you think, what you feel, what you do, and what you get.
