The Human Response
There comes a time in most human beings lives, where their experience becomes less and less. They get up, they go to work, they go to the gym, they eat dinner, they watch tv, then they sleep. The next day, is a repeat of the day before, with the exception of maybe going to the same pub, or the same restaurant and so on. Overall, every day is a repeat of the one before it. We talk to the same people, we go to the same places, and we experience the same emotions. We rarely meet anyone new, because we are never in a place where different people are. So we go through our lives, with a very narrow experience.
It becomes a routine. Which usually lasts for many years, if not an entire lifetime. We don’t even realize that there is so much more out there. When we stop experiencing new things, new environments, meeting new people, and so on, the mind becomes responsive. Responsive to things that which already exists, and it is a programmed response. There is nothing new to experience, so we forget there is more out there. We accept our routines as who we are, we revel in our habits, and we believe that is who we are. Go places you wouldn’t normally go, do things you wouldn’t normally do, try things you wouldn’t normally try. And you will find you have a much more fulfilling life. This also works for habits, stress, and depression. All it takes, is a change in though and perspective. A smoker says they can’t quit smoking, because stress in their lives makes them want to smoke. However, there was once a time in their lives, where they didn’t crave cigarettes. But they have been smoking for so long that they have forgotten how they felt before they started. They see it as the only way to relieve their stress. So they say its very hard to quit, when life is stressful. But is it?
What would happen, if they just stopped. What would happen if they had the will power to fight their cravings? They would change their stress level. Rather than reaching for a cigarette when stressed, they would have to do something different. Read a book, do some excercises, write a poem, phone a friend, dance to music, eat some fruit. Take the mind off the craving, and soon enough, the mind will no longer have the false craving that never existed before. It’s like pressing the reset button. All they have to do, is start experiencing something different when that craving occurs, and relate that craving to the new experience.
The minute they give in to that craving, they remain trapped, in the responsive, programming they accustomed their mind to. The only reason they say its hard to do, is because they simply haven’t tried something different. The same goes with any stressful thing in life. Find out what the cause of the stress is, and change how you react to it. If you’re depressed, go out and meet new people, in a place where you’ve never been before. Join a club, or program, play a sport, attend events. Write a book, paint a picture, sing a song, learn a craft. Keep the experience fresh! Where theres a will, theres a way. Change the thought, change the habit. New perspective, new experience. Life is a ride, and we can change it anytime we want
