6 Techniques For Conscious Change

Many of you desire to make a difference in this crazy world, but you are often warned against "self-importance" – a charge reserved for the people, who believe they are so important, that the world would end without them. Such an attitude is dangerously close to the model of self-importance.

There are a number of rigorous scientifically-driven approaches to studying the human species. They seek to understand the way you think and act, in order to make sure you don't destroy your planet in the process. None of these approaches, however, tell you how to engage in conscious change. They leave that one up to the individual.

It can be difficult to change the way you think, feel, and act even when you recognize the need to do so. Change is hard. The frustrating thing is that often people go through all of the motions but fail to produce any significant change. One thing they may be overlooking is their mental model, which is how they view the world. Without your mental model, you may fail to see, understand and respond to things in the way that will produce effects.

Practice Conscious Thoughts

It is only through deliberate practice, that your mental model will grow and improve. You have to constantly remind yourself, that you are a human being and not a human doing. Just because you have a certain capacity to perform a certain task, it does not mean you should do so.

The very idea of a machine performing any action is repulsive to the very concept of a human. You are a unique and irreplaceable individual. Your thoughts are your own. Your feelings are your own. Your actions come from the decisions you make. Your choices and your decisions are the sum total of your life.

The more you are able to focus on and recognize the nature of your thought process and the role that emotions play in it, the more you will be able to recognize and respond to the various emotions, that arise within you. You will be better able to make good choices and avoid bad choices.

Define Your Uncomfortable Feelings

What kinds of feelings are you having? How can you tell?

It is important to note, that you do not have to feel a certain way in order to be who you are. In fact, you can recognize that you have many feelings, that you would rather not have. You would rather be focusing on other things, but those other things are not available to you. Even if they were, however, would you really rather focus on them, than the feelings that you have?

There are many names for certain feelings. You can decide for yourself what the words used to describe them mean. For example, you can call any intense and uncomfortable feeling "anger." That does not tell you anything about anger itself, only that you are experiencing it. Calling it "unhappiness" tells you, that you are unhappy, but only because you are currently experiencing that state.

Identify The Obstacles

There are many obstacles in your life that are preventing you from being who you really want to be. The first and most obvious one is simply the fact, that you are feeling angry. As soon as you start to feel any particular emotion, it is natural that you will be less able to function optimally in all areas of your life. You can't think straight, you can't act appropriately, you can't make good decisions. That is the case regardless of what you choose to call the emotion.

Therefore, you have two options. The first option is to take a break from your practice and go do something, that you find pleasurable. You are not required to practice at all, however, so long as you are having a break. The second option is to continue with your practice using a different emotion as a focus for your attention. The only difference is that this time you will be using one of the more passive emotions listed here, such as contentment, hope, or optimism.

Conscious Literal, Behavioral And Emotional Change

• Literal Change: This would be changing the words you use to describe your experience. For example, if you chose to focus on optimism, you would start to use words and phrases like "optimistic," "yielding," and "proving."

• Behavioral Change: This would be changing your actions. For example, if you chose to focus on optimism, you would start taking steps to achieve your goals in a more optimistic manner. That could mean starting your day with an optimistic attitude or having lunch with a friend to discuss a more optimistic way to solve their problem.

• Emotional Change: This would be changing your emotional state. For example, if you chose to focus on optimism, you would go about your day with a more optimistic mindset. You wouldn't let yourself be consumed by the negativity, that has such a way of creeping in. Instead, you would focus on the positivity.

You can also choose to focus on any number of these changes at any time and you can choose to focus on one, two, or all three. The important thing to remember, however, is that you cannot focus on a change without also making other changes to support that change.

For example, if you choose to focus on optimism, you will have to be more careful with your thoughts, than you have been. You will also have to be more mindful of your behavior and your interactions with other people.

There are many other things, that will have to be practiced in order for you to become the person you want to be and this is simply one part of that. While you cannot change into someone else, you can change into someone better, than you are now.

Implementation

Now, that you know what it is you want to change, it is time to determine the best way to go about making those changes. This is an important part of the process, as it is through implementation, that the person really begins to change.

How will you go about implementing your chosen change?

By deciding on a way to implement your change, you are deciding on how committed you are to making that change. It is entirely possible, that the very act of deciding to make this change may be enough to reinforce it and cause you to actually begin to make the changes you want.

You have two primary options when it comes to implementing your change. The first option is to go about this with a "conscious" or "rational" method. This means, that you are aware of what you are doing, you are cognizant of the various choices and decisions that lead up to your current situation and you choose to do something about it.

Examples of this would be if you want to be more optimistic, you could study the various ways, that optimism is reinforced and take steps to apply those methods to yourself. You could also choose to consciously show, through your behavior, that you are more optimistic. This could mean something as simple as smiling more, or it could be something more complicated, such as going to great lengths to help those around you even if no one is looking.

The second option is to go about this with a "subconscious" method. This means that you are not aware of the various choices and decisions, that lead up to your current situation and you do not choose to do anything to change it. You are, instead, reacting instinctively to your environment and your own emotions, without being aware of how you are doing so.

Examples of this would be if you want to be more optimistic, you may find it difficult to do so consciously, because you are not aware of how you are coming across. You may find it difficult to show yourself more optimism, because as an emotional reaction you are not actually aware of how you appear.

Which of these two options you choose to go with will depend entirely upon which you think will be most effective for you. I know the latter option does not fit to the main topic of this article, but I decided to talk about that too. There are many other options, that you can choose to go with as well.

Thank you for reading.