We live in a society where we are empowered.
If you don’t like the house you live in, move.
If you don’t like the relationship you’re in, leave.
If you don’t like the job, transition.
I enjoy a wonderful life because I feel empowered to change the things I don’t like. However, I have come to discover a flaw in this approach to life and an intriguing shift in focus that supports better health and productivity.
In this article, I will outline how it requires energy to change things we don’t like and how the people who are the biggest and strongest generally win. I will also outline the beauty of learning to shift from feeling the need to change things to simply changing our reactions to things. Think about this comment. Rather than changing our environment to please us, what if we can simply change our reactions to our environment?
- It requires energy to change things.
We live in a rapidly changing world that doesn’t always feel comfortable. We are not all programmed with the same beliefs, attitudes, and values. Our belief system dictates how things ‘should’ be and when not aligned, we feel distressed and we take action. As demands increase and the pace intensifies. There are more things to change. The drivers to be strong, be perfect, hurry up, try hard and please others (known as Kahler’s Drivers) contribute to our success in normal times but derail us when demands intensify. We reach a point where we cannot keep up – it simply requires too much energy.
2. The person with the greatest personal resources generally wins.
In these conditions, the person with the most resources will generally self-regulate. They will exert their might to change the environment to be comfortable for themselves and fit within their set of beliefs – because they are rich, strong and powerful. They may believe they are doing what is right but in the process, people with fewer resources and different beliefs, attitudes, and values will suffer.
3. We benefit by learning to let go of the sticking points.
When conditions in our environment don’t match our beliefs and attitudes, we experience thoughts, emotions and sensations that don’t feel comfortable. We get stuck in reactive responses.
In reality, we will never be able to build sufficient physical or mental resources to change all of the people and things that create the conditions we feel need to be changed. So let’s approach this from a different perspective. When conditions in our environment don’t match our beliefs and attitudes, we experience thoughts, emotions, and sensations that don’t feel comfortable. We get stuck in reactive responses. The key to unlocking our potential is not so much to build more muscle but rather to get unstuck. We are more than body and mind and we can restore the flow of our creative energy so that it is available to us. We can think of this as developing our spiritual resources – the most powerful of our personal resources.
Energy is subtle yet powerful. Be aware of the power you can achieve when you can remain calm in the middle of chaos. Be aware of the influence you can have when people sense peace rather than panic. Be aware of the energy that is available to you when you shift from needing to change things to simply changing your reaction to things. The work is energetic and words have the power to shift energy. As we learn to notice and neutralize our reactions, we can efficiently create the change we desire.
4. Changing our reactions allows us to enjoy better health and productivity.
It requires energy to change things and the person with the most resources will generally change conditions to make themselves feel comfortable. Learning how to change our reactions allows us to restore the flow of our creative energy – our most powerful resource – so that we can be well positioned to influence change. Logosynthesis®, developed by Dr. Willem Lammers, provides a beautiful philosophy and a powerful technique to support this work. It creates a sense of peace and calm so that we can more fully enjoy our current home, relationships, and job. This opens space to focus on what is important while supporting better health and productivity.
