How do you create associations within your mind? How do you connect the dots between certain things, how do your #neurologicalassociations impact your #behavior? Do you realize that the way you #think and #feel about certain things automatically #influences your behavior in ways that tend to create patterned default associations? When you associate two things as having negative or positive connections, you will often create default assumptions or thoughts regarding those things each time you encounter them. For example, if as a child, you touch a hot stove and burn yourself, you will more than likely remember that a hot stove = pain. That association will prevent you from touching a hot stove. In life, the same thing applies to most things, pleasure and pain drive us.
While we continuously develop our individual personalities throughout life, we choose how to better understand our #thoughts, behaviors or whether it's important to understand ourselves at all. Sometimes folks float through life without ever considering why they do what they do, why life presents itself the way it does or whether it's valuable to understand how our behavior directly impacts us at all. When we take the time to educate ourselves about ourselves, to pay attention to detail, we take mental notes to understand the associations between certain things, we begin to understand how much influence and how many navigational skills we authentically possess and the way WE create our own destiny and those things taking place within our lives.
Shifting and changing things that serve enabling or disabling circumstances in our lives is directly linked to us; how we perceive things and or react to things. Yes, #positivethinking is #healthy and great, but positive thinking without action is relatively useless in the multi-dimensional world we exist within. Our divine human creation was designed with the great gift of free-thought, physical ability and cognitive training, three things that provide huge value within our daily lives. When we perceive things linked to pleasure or pain, we automatically create neurological associations that either continue to benefit us or hinder us. #Negativeinternaldialogue is a huge piece of this equation. If we wish to create more optimal situations for ourselves, we have to reflect on the ways in which our minds work. If we experience negative things, people or situations, we often create associations that shackle us to certain behaviors and or responses due to fear and pain. This is where many of us shut down, give up, lash out or avoid. Coping mechanisms become predictable and unwilling to change due to not being wanting to experience negative or painful experiences; people wall themselves off in an attempt to protect, avoid conflict, defend or protect themselves from poor experiences that they have associated or assumed will always take place when certain things present themselves.
The same things pertain to #positiveinternaldialogue and associations. Sometimes people become naive or assume that certain things will consistently create positive or optimal circumstances based on associations they've created so they stop paying attention to detail and end up getting taken for a ride. It's always important to pay attention to the ever evolving associations we link to things and people, nothing in life is guaranteed other than death. In order to shift our destiny, we must better understand those things that drive and inspire us. We must understand what we fear and how those things prevent us from doing, speaking and reacting in rational or reasonable ways. We must understand when and why we shut down, why we #avoid, #deflect, #blame, explode. What generates #joy, #pleasure, #satisfyingexperiences that we welcome and prefer and how to discipline and teach ourselves how to create different neurological associations that benefit us and our wellness when we get stuck in fear and pain based associations that hinder our behavior and #relationships with self and others.
*Write down 3 positive associations that are currently assisting you in healthy, beneficial ways - Things you actively and currently do to diffuse, communicate, support yourself or others on a daily basis / For each of these things, write down the feelings and emotion associated with these things and how you can expand on them to generate more of what you want
*Write down 3 negative associations that are currently hurting you and loved ones - Things you actively and currently do that ignite and fuel fires, discourage and damage yourself or others on a daily basis / For each of these things, write down the feelings and emotion associated with these things and how you can shift the associations creating conflict. For example : "When family members speak in certain ways, assume, blame, accuse, disrespect or explode, I can express that I do not appreciate being spoken to in such ways and that when they are ready to have calm, respectful conversation in order to better understand what is taking place or to create connectivity and solutions, we can resume conversation. I too, am responsible for taking responsible for my own actions and will not assume, blame, accuse, disrespect or explode onto my loved ones."
*Associating the behavior of others with automatic assumptions without fact, proof or clarity is a recipe for disaster. Constantly lashing out, pointing fingers, accusing, avoiding authentic conversation or taking the time to share the true nature of what is taking place internally and or the feelings swirling within individual people and their lives, often leads to internal familial conflict and division. This impacts friendships and intimate relationships as well. When people are hurt or fearful of being hurt, they often tend to create more stories that end in self-sabotage. Let's work to break the unhealthy associations and instead create healthy associations that lead us towards more satisfying and rewarding life experiences.
Shine on.
