In Part I of this post, we examined the concept of default modes and analyzed how they can rule over our life without our consent or awareness. In this post, we will examine how to take control back from these harmful mental programs.
In the beginning of Part I, I hinted at the fact that human beings operate on two different channels. One channel, which we call mindfulness, is a proactive state of mind where our minds are fully awake and in control of the decisions we make. The second channel is a type of default program we automatically start running that will make decisions for us whenever we start to enter a reactive state of mind. Lastly, we discovered that once our inner mind buys into a belief system, it will viciously defend that belief, regardless of whether the belief system is based on truth or falsehood. Our inner mind does not seek Truth; it only seeks to defend what it believes to be true.
So, how do we locate and overwrite these harmful belief systems and replace them with new programs that are geared towards success and living in excellence? Here are a few steps you can follow to discover and overwrite some of your own harmful programs:
The first step is to find your faulty belief systems by examining where you are suffering stress, emotional incongruence and ineffectiveness in your life. Take note ANYTIME you lose control of your emotions. When you feel fear, anger, disappointment, nervousness, apathy, or any other emotional affliction, a bad program is the most likely culprit.
This is a perfect time to start asking yourself why you are reacting negatively and where this belief system originated. Be forewarned…because your inner mind is ready to defend your old way of thinking, you have to make it a habit of being brutally honest and admitting that you have been duped by your inner mind. You need the courage to put your inner mind in check, and that means taking responsibility for your own afflictive emotions.
Next, ask what rules you have set up for yourself and why they are leading to stress. You need to pinpoint where the bad program is located. Some of the most common problems deal with assigning personal meaning to a belief system from a time or event that was very emotional or traumatic for you. It may have been some failure, guilt, anger, pain, etc to which you assigned personal meaning to some part of your belief system.
Cognitively understanding the problem is a huge breakthrough. The very fact that you have turned and looked at your inner mind (at yourself), and found a flaw in the way you think is a remarkable exercise of human intelligence. When we develop the ability to look into our minds and push past our hidden beliefs, then we start to move past some of the obstacles of the mind that cause humans to consistently fall short of our goals. Ask yourself about the origin of your default modes and understand what future will arise from pursing them. What changes would move you towards the destiny your awakened mind envisions?
Be prepared to fight a prolonged emotional battle with your inner mind. You will most likely slip back into your bad default mode a number of times. This is very okay! That is why I am telling you to expect it now…it is part of the normal process. Don’t create a totally separate issue because you think you have failed. At the beginning you will most likely realize that you slipped back into your old program AFTER the matter.
As soon as you realize that you are feeling those old emotions based on old beliefs, take a look at the process again. When you calm down, it’s time to put the gloves on and go and lay down the law with you inner mind. Gain control by understanding this process and expect to continue to fall into the old way of thinking. A very effective (and healthy) practice is to LAUGH at yourself the moment you realize that your inner mind snatched the remote control from you and changed the channel.
Progress in your battle can be gauged by how soon you realize that you are slipping into your old belief patterns. First you will realize that you slipped after the fact and you will laugh, get energized and go take the remote control back again. With time and practice, you will start to catch yourself while you are still on the wrong channel. At this time, you can laugh, put on the Rocky theme song and go get the remote control back. With even more practice, you will be able to see your inner mind sneaking up on you, and you can take immediate control of the remote and ensure that you are staying on the right channel.
Can you see how vigilant you have to remain? Can you see how you will need energy to fight and win each battle? I cannot stress the importance of physical exercise and a rested mind has on staying on the right channel and on being able to effectively wrestle back control over your inner mind. Doing this while you are physically drained or tired is going to beat you down. This is why sleep and exercise are important elements in gaining control of your mind and how they can help eliminate problems in your life. Another word of advice is to wait until your emotions simmer down before you continue your battle. That is why it is important to laugh at yourself and make this a fun game. If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you need to cool off and wait until you can before you go get the remote control. If you don’t you are not going to find it.
You can see that this ongoing battle is one of resistance of yourself over your “self”. With continued practice you will be able to keep on the proper channel long enough that eventually your inner mind will forget about the bad channel and you may no longer have to deal with this process. Don’t be surprised if it suddenly turns on again in the future, however. You may experience something that jolts you onto the old channel…or you might find another faulty belief system is plaguing you. The good news is that once you learn the process and put it to work, the battles become easier and shorter. One day you may even find that your initial awareness of the problem is enough to change your behavior pattern at that very same moment.
Lastly, please realize the incredible benefits you will receive from entering this process of cleaning up bad belief systems. You will find that you are suffering less and less and that life gets easier and feels happier than ever before. With your ever increasing positive state of mind, you will be that much more energized and happy to meet upcoming challenges. Perhaps the most powerful thing is that shifting your thoughts about life will shift your environment into a place to thrive. This is what being a warrior is all about.