The amazing human design. While it is made to be a change media, it is also made to resist change. While made to handle an astonishingly wide spectrum of the practical and the tangible, it is equally made to handle the intangible and deeply mystical. While dealing with the material worlds, it is made to process the unseen power and energy worlds across a vast range of frequencies, wavelengths, qualities and potencies.
‘Everything’ Is Changing – Apart From Habits
Radical change is the central theme of these times. ‘Everything’ is changing: How we communicate; how we think about work; how we think about the world and its future; how we use our time; how modern technology is changing and evolving and how we use it… And yet, when did you last try to change a habit..? Everything is changing but habits are as stubborn as they ever used to be: Changing a habit is still one of the most challenging propositions in our lives which is why, as an example, ‘weight watchers’ networks are still thriving across the globe.
The Two Kinds Of Personal Change
There are two distinctly different natures of change in the context of personal evolution:
Change caused by an external influence.
Self-determined change, arising from within the intimacy of one’s inner processes.
While the two may share common denominators at different levels and depths, and where one’s inner processes are often influenced by external influences; being a self-determining, self-directing, self-arising individual adds another dimension to the experience of the dynamics of change and its purposes.
When guided and governed by the right reasons, self-determined change can be a powerful change catalyst which is where servant leadership in its most potent forms comes into play.
The Business of Creating New Futures
There is now present a window of opportunity that enables humans to enter the universal ‘business’ of creating new futures in the capacity of being tangible contributors in unprecedented ways. This human occupation is possibly the most profound, fascinating and challenging of all that we do in this life. And for each one of us, the high point of this practice is the creation of our own personal futures. To be able to effectively engage in this profound process we need to be able to make needed changes in our lives, especially where limiting habits are concerned.
Which is where we meet this duality of wanting and needing to change to be able to fully engage in creating new futures and yet, meeting the stiff resistance of deeply engrained habits. As an example, if one is a control freak, his/her greatest challenge is to realize the consequences of self-tyranny which may severely limit the realization of the range of connective freedoms that the human is gifted with and that constitute a vital element of one’s developmental opportunity.
The Developmental Science Of Pushing Through Resistance
So while living in times that proposition us with incredible possibilities, certain habits can substantially limit the range, depth and scope of our engagement. The view to have in mind is that the resistance of the human system to change – other by change achieved via a learning process – is a critical attribute that ensures our survival.
Imagine life without the facility of intact habits, where we had to keep learning everything all over again and again. Habits are necessary functional formations that life cannot do without. When correctly formed, habits are meant to hold and maintain our best capabilities while enabling us to keep winning new grounds in our quest to develop, progress and evolve.
But then there are good, not so good, bad and really bad habits… The human system has no will of its own – it is designed to learn whatever it is taught. it’s up to the personal standards and driving instincts of the individual and the environment in which he/she grows.
And it begins, every day, with a simple developmental task that is unique to each individual. One of the most potent approaches to personal development is developing specific qualities. As an example, developing a quality such as wisdom, will-power, tenacity, self-confidence, finesse, flexibility, adaptability, creativity, humour, warmth, courage… choose one that best serves your need at this time.
The way to develop a quality or capability is by repetition. Set yourself a simple task every day – one that is doable and measurable – and simply just do it. Invest a big mental effort into a tiny little act. Wash, rinse, repeat… Decide on a time-frame such as six to nine months. It takes nine months to be born… nine months for a repetition to get hold…
Do It With The Whole Of You
The way to employ repetition as an effective personal development media is to repeat an action with the whole of oneself. Remember that contrary to what many people think, knowledge is not development. Real development is evidenced through one’s behaviour, actions, usage of language and quality of thinking. It’s about learning to feel, perceive and act with the whole of oneself. Not just with one’s intellect.
Change Is An Omni-Potent, Omni-Present Event
Look around you. Change is everywhere, affecting all aspects of living. Nothing escapes the energies of change as they affect every form of organic life, from insects to humans. To draw maximum benefit from the multiple change dynamics that are now in play, as there are more than one, we need to discover ways to be in tune and in synchronization with it.
Moving on with the insight that the human design is blessed with a chameleon capability in terms of its versatility, we can be both fast and slow inside of rapid change. We can, for brief moments, bring time to a halt and then speed it up by how we think and use our minds. One of the remarkable features of the human faculty is that it can operate as a time accelerator/decelerator… Try it with how you move about – slow down every so often with your body and mind to experience the instant change in perception. Time has an elasticity that can be experienced and even used to purpose through the skilled usage of self.
By Design, Humans Are Change Catalysts
Each one of us is made to be a unique change catalyst. The growth and impact of our sphere of influence is directly proportional to the degree of our success in making those tiny yet potent changes. There is an extraordinary leverage to developmental practices: A change in behaviour in an individual can help a multitude in their endeavour. And we are not talking here about the known and famous. Inter-personal influence has a magical way of affecting others through seemingly anonymous endeavours. This is part of the wonders of life.
Self-Leadership
Decide on a simple aim and achieve it by repetition. Repetition is a language that the body, brain and mind understand. The more you repeat, the more your faculties will get to know what you want and at some point will deliver back in spades in unsuspecting ways.
Resistance exists so that meaningful change can happen and take root.
David Gommé
World Copyright 2013© David Gommé