In my last post I shared with you how your “Core Story” can influence your reactions, responses and attitudes when confronted with a difficult life experience.
For example, maybe you grew up poor with no understanding of financial responsibility. You could use your fear of poverty as a great excuse for financial ignorance, irresponsibility, and lack of success, or with the proper skills, you can turn your fear of poverty in to motivation to be financially smart, secure, and even wealthy. Perhaps you grew up with an alcoholic parent. This could be used as a justifiable excuse for your own drinking problems, or it could be used for understanding and clarity about the pain and addiction abusive drinking can cause a family and a source of inspiration for you to drink responsibly, or not at all. Maybe you went through something horrific and embarrassing in your life. This can either cause pain or be a secret you keep for the rest of your life that justifies some of your misery and dysfunction. Or it could be shared and used as your “gift” or “ministry” to help others. All these things can either hold you back or hold you up and motivate you to reach for the sky. It is all your perspective. Changing your core story perspective would be a great New Year’s Resolution that will help you to make the other resolutions your reality for the New Year. You need to understand the “old you” before you can create a plan for the “new you”.
When you understand your core story, you will understand that much of your reactions, responses, and attitudes to difficult situations, are “re-active” as a result of your core story. In other words, you always do what you’ve always done, and that is why you get the same result. It is called “Re-active living”. You need to change the way you react and respond to get a different result; a desired result, which is called “Pro-Active living”. But first you must change your attitude about your core story. This new attitude adjustment can then lead to a different response and a different way of reacting, which can lead to and a much healthier outcome for your future.
Here are some Re-Active to Pro-Active Attitude Adjustments to help you do that.
- Re-active: I am holding on to, and using my core story beliefs for disempowerment, self-sabotage, and justification.
Pro-active: I will use my core story experiences for motivation and justification for my success and happiness.
- I blame others and my past for my insecurities, lack of success, lack of options, and bad behavior.
Pro-active: I will take responsibility for my life, my behavior, and my future. I understand that past situations and people have helped mold who I am today in ways that have made me stronger, built character, and have taught me unique skills and life lessons. I will use these to build a better future for myself.
- Re-active: I subconsciously use my core story experience to make limited or bad decisions to keep myself “safe” or trapped, or to avoid change or failure.
Pro-active: I am going to understand and embrace who I am as a result of my core story and use it to make healthy confident decisions that will lead me to a better, more secure, happier life.
Life is full of challenge and uncertainty and I am certain this New Year will offer all of us some of each. But you have been through challenge before and it has helped define who you are today. You are confident, capable, and full of potential. I suggest you make the resolution to use this New Year to clarify your dreams, become comfortable with yourself, and to look for opportunities that you might not have thought of before. Open your eyes to the presence of universal energy in your life. Opportunity is everywhere. New doors will be opening for you this year, I am certain of it. Embrace yourself fully for all that you are, and make it work for you. You are in good hands this year, your own.
Now go live your life