Patterns

 

 

In this fast paced modern world we can easily get bogged down with the never ending stimulus that assaults us at every second. Sometimes though, we have to look up to see the big picture so we can see how our lives have become molded into the current pattern that it is in now.

How did you get to this point? Really, you where just living your life, dealing as best as you could and before you knew it you were here, at this point in time, in this situation.

Maybe it’s not a bad place. Perhaps its perfectly fine.

Life is that way. You go along doing your thing with little thought to why you are doing it other than there are bills to pay and the need for a comfortable life. But have you ever thought about the patterns you have created that have manifested into what is your life to this point?

patterns

a combination of qualities, acts, tendencies, etc., forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement:

Sometimes you have to look way back in order to see the beginning of a pattern. Maybe, for example, years ago you took a job because you needed money to live. It wasn’t your dream job but it paid the bills with some left over at the end of the month for you to enjoy. The beginnings of a new pattern was formed.

Before you knew it, years have past and you are still at that same job. It’s still not a bad job, just not what you thought you would be doing as a career. But now the pattern is so engrained into the fiber of your being that changing now would be a momentous undertaking.

Just as you did before when you created the first pattern that is now your life, patterns can be changed, with as little as one simple decision. In my blog post, Change One Thing I talk about how one altered action can be the catalyst for a long term change.

I am thinking about patterns and change this week because I took the time to look up, and notice the change in the pattern that is my life. It didn’t happen over night, although sudden, life altering change do happen in every person’s life from time to time, both good and bad. But in the case of where I am right now, the patterns that I had altered ever so slightly  have morphed to the point where it is hard not to notice that indeed I am no longer in the rut of the original pattern.

Life is all about change. That in itself is a pattern, but it is in our human nature to seek out certainty. Etched in our brains is the ancient default pattern for safety and certainty. Our cavemen ancestors created that template for us so that we as a species could survive, thrive and evolve.

So our subconscious mind says, “Hey, this life isn’t so bad. I are safe. I have food. I have a roof over your head. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” This is a deeply etched pattern formed eons ago and the vast majority are fine to continue this caveman pattern for another generation.

If you are someone like me though, who likes the certainty of a comfortable life but yearns for just a little bit more, you may need to make small adjustments over time in order to alter your current default patterns. Nothing too drastic so as to invoke the fear and flight pattern that is engrained deeply into our DNA thanks to our ancient ancestors .

For me it started out with a curiosity. It was not my intention to change the pattern that is my life. But that inquisitiveness none the less started me on a new path. First just an interest but then as my curiosity grew, more questions came. Before I knew it I was looking at my safe little world in a totally different light. Now, as I am looking back I can see that the old pattern has been replaced with a new pattern that is better suited to how I want to live my life now.

I think one of the reasons folks get depressed with their lot in life is because they know they need to change a pattern that no longer works for them. Maybe your lifestyle choices could be improved, or you need a more challenging job, or you have outgrown your surroundings but making the change feels like such a hard thing to do. The pattern of discontent is etched so deeply after all.

But the fact is, if you have the feeling that you are in need of a change then you have already made an alteration to the original pattern. The pattern is now marred with a scratch of discontent. It can never be as it was and you are well advised to continue with the alterations.

To grow we need to change. To change we need to alter the patterns we have followed in the past. Start with your curiosity. Allow the feeling to lead you out of the deeply grooved model that is holding you back. Be patient and keep following the new path. Before you know it a new, better suited pattern will be formed.

What can you do to create a new pattern in your life today? Leave a comment and help me continue the discussion.