Breaking free from the conditioning and the programing that enslaves many......
I was a little side-tracked with the last post, but I felt compelled to share the realization I had from my own lessons and blog post. I’m going to take you back to the 2nd major decision I made in my life, a decision I can look back on and say: “That was a defining decision in my life and moved my life in a positive direction”.
That decision was the day that I decided I could no longer work for somebody else. I had deemed myself, still do to the day, un-employable.
During my first, “big boy” job it did not take me long to know exactly what I did not want. I could not stand somebody having so much control and influence over the hours of my day, weeks and ultimately the years of my life. The feeling of someone telling me when I should be working, where I should be working, who I had to work with, what I had to work on and for how long, when it was ok to leave, how I should act, what I should wear, was something that was burning me inside..…I felt like a robot or a puppet with someone pulling the strings of “my life”. I felt anything but free. I felt as if my aliveness, creativity and freedom were being taken from me.
I remember driving to work at the typical time of 5am, and I was hit with an intense realization. I thought to myself:
“Is this life? Is this really what we do? Live, simply to work? We are all conditioned robots, simply going about our days on autopilot, only to feel a brief sense of aliveness as Friday afternoon comes around, only to have reality smack us straight in the face on Sunday afternoon.”
Something that struck me the most was the reaction I would get from others when I shared my frustration to others regarding this entrapment situation and feeling. They would look at me and say: “Brian, well yes. It’s called real life. It’s called a job!”……
Wow! Has humanity really been so conditioned that they have become brainwashed and simply willing to accept this as their fate, even if they are not 100% happy?
Those were my thoughts when I would hear people respond like so.
Here’s the reality. Many individuals are willing to accept that as their reality. Which is fine, there is no right or wrong. But I was not willing to accept this as my fate and I know millions feel a burning within their stomach to break free from these societal norms.
And step one to breaking free is to become unwilling to accept this as your fate.
I knew there had to be different way. I just needed to find that path.
The final straw came when I was filling out my “permission slip”. Also known as: my vacation request form. This perplexed me. Here I was, in the real word, as an adult, no longer under the care of my parents, no longer in middle school, no longer in high-school…..the REAL world….. asking permission and making sure the dates were ok for me to do what I actually wanted to do. Just for 10 days out of the year.
I want you to think about this for a second. Think of how well society has done when it comes to conditioning us to follow such “norms or reality”. From the time that we are 5-6 years old we are directed in everything that we do and ultimately set nicely on 'the conveyer belt of society'. And this starts with the educational system. A system that conditions us so well to accept the “real world” and seamlessly transition into the workforce. By the time one hits the workforce they’ve been so well conditioned that nothing feels “out of sort”, they don’t feel a lack of freedom nor do they feel as if their life is being heavily influenced. So there is no need for them to fight the system or have a desire to break free.
Result = conform to the norms and fit nicely within this societal system. An awakening is needed. Taking our lives back becomes the objective.
Let me dig a little deeper....
Think about this, we are told what we should study, which classes we must take, what time we need to show up for these classes (we respond to a bell!), what dress is deemed appropriate, which days we can have off etc…
So here’s what happens when people enter the workforce. It’s simply an extension of the conditioning we’ve experienced for the last 20+ years of our live! For many, the same principles apply. You're told: when to show up, when you can leave, how long you should work each week, what you should be working on, whom you should work with, how you should act, when you can take time for yourself, which days you should be working. You can see the point here.
No wonder it’s so easy for millions to just “accept” this as their reality, the conditioning began 20+ years prior. It's become a seamless transition with no inner turmoil. The destiny has been accepted or should I say, programed within.
We have become programed.
To the ones that feel a churn within their gut when they understand and become awakened to this phenomenon. To the ones that want that freedom, the ones that want to be 100% responsible for their success and/or failure, to the ones that want to Break Free.....
I’m here to say…..This does NOT have to be your reality. I am a firm believer that the more “Awakened” our society becomes, the sooner this system will completely collapse.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many benefits to our educational system; however, there are just as many things that have hindered humankind from actually LIVING, creating, and being ALIVE. I will save this post for a future date.
So, back to the moment where I asked myself “Is this really life and the real world? Would this be the next 30 years of my life?”
My answer become….
Hell NO!
NO! Not me.
My life would be on my terms. I wanted to become 100% responsible for my failure and/or success. That is a liberating feeling, to say the least.
So…..
I quit! Peace. I am out of here.
I put in my 2 week notice.
I will never forget the feeling I had the day I walked out of those doors. Looking back I can define it as “wholeness or oneness with the universe.” It was as if I was weightless, just stillness, space… At the time I simply labeled this feeling as a sense of complete freedom.
This is how I felt.....and this is actually me.
Today, I know it was one of the few times that I felt my true self, my being, my essence. I was at peace, filled with joy and bliss.
Now, it may seem as if I made this decision at the snap of my fingers, as if I was selecting a beverage to order. This could not be farther from the truth.
I was at that ‘job’ for 3 years and 2.5 years of that time was spent wondering and dreaming of leaving one day.
Two and a half years I was “planning” my escape. And during that entire time my heart would speak and then just as quick my mind would grab control and start calculating, analyzing and playing the “what if” game.
Some days I would be so sure of my decision to leave and start my own business/gym and then I would have thoughts of doubt seep in. I remember so many nights just pleading for clarity to hit me. Any form of clarity! Looking back that was the issue; I wanted clarity to just hit me. The problem is that we don’t just “have” clarity; we create and generate our clarity.
I would go back and forth.
“Quit!”
“No, stay and give it some more time. You can continue to work your way up.”
“Brian, you’re miserable. Take control and ownership of your destiny! You can do this, you need to do this!”
“Yeah, but what if it’s not what I really want. Then what? Then you have to go back to what you so deeply dislike.” “What if you don’t make as much money?”
These would be the voices in my head for 2+ years. But one day the decision was made.
Was I suddenly struck with some unwavering sense of clarity and certainty? Absolutely not. I still had those voices, however I chose to believe the voice that was saying “Brian, have faith in yourself. You will be able to figure things out. It will work out, I’m not entirely sure how, but I know it will”.
I now look back on this decision as a defining moment in my life, a moment attributed to incredible growth and a moment I attribute to moving my life forward. I was no longer maintaining my life. I was leading my life FORWARD.
I think there is a massive lesson in this.
When faced with a defining decision in your life, you will never feel a sense of complete clarity and certainty. You will never have that defining moment where you say, right now is the absolute perfect time. The cosmos have aligned and now is when I go.
You will always have some forms of doubt, fog, uncertainty, second guessing, the “what if game”.
However, you can become empowered to make the right decision when you become completely aware of these thoughts and voices within. You become aware of this internal dilemma, and can decipher the difference between the voices. You are aware that one is simply your calculated and analytical mind. The risk adverse mind, which will do everything in its power to keep you in the known and “protected”. It wants you to stay in the light. The familiar.
That’s where it’s safe for you, or so it thinks.
As soon as you become aware of this fact, you’ve empowered yourself to make the decision that will become a defining moment in your life. A decision that moves your life forward. You will know the voice of your heart. The heart that wants risk, adventure, freedom, the new and to march into the unknown, the darkness and unfamiliar. It wants growth, not security.
It wants you to flourish and knows that you must leave the comfy seats of the known and take the path to break free. Act on the voice of your heart and you’ll have taken a step onto ‘The Break Free Journey’.
Reflection Questions:
What’s the current “reality” that you may be accepting?
Are you happy that you are accepting this reality?
If you accept this as your reality, how do you envision your life in 5 years? 10 years?
When you think about rejecting and breaking free from this reality, what are the thoughts that come to your mind? List them.
When you think about rejecting this reality, describe the feelings that come to you. List them.
Are you aware that the negative thoughts are that of the calculated mind? Adverse to risk.
Are you aware that the feelings within (of excitement, adventure and wonder) are that of your heart speaking? Willing to risk. Wanting you to flourish.
If you follow your heart and dreams, do you have faith in yourself to figure things out?
Imagine your life if you rejected the reality that you are currently accepting and you step out into the unknown. You’re now completely free. The world is in your hands. You write the story to your life. What does that story look like to you? Envision this. Remember, there are NO limitations. All conditioning and programing has been lifted from you. Let your imagination flow. CREATE!
Now start living it!
Still unsure? Still looking for more clarity, steps and direction? Then I invite you to check out: ‘The Break Free Journey’.
Dedicated to your breakthrough,
Brian