First, I guess we should establish exactly what a paradigm is. It is a person’s thoughts, ideas and habits that makeup the way that they interpret and interact with the world they live in. Often there are underlying and overlying aspects to it. And it is also true that some of the habits that we possess, were learned or taken on without intentional or deliberate thought in our younger years.
So a paradigm shift would be changing our thoughts and/or ideas and/or habits. You see, if you want to change something in your life, you have to make a change. Ghandi says, “You must become the change you wish to see in this world.”
And you should expect that if you make a change in your life, something will feel different about it, and that is good. Expect it. Embrace it! Revel in it. Accept that this different feeling is the new norm, or a step on the way to it. Wayne Dyer says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
But how do we shift a paradigm? Through focused identification. First you think about what you want your life to be. Then you set a goal that is in line with your goal. And last, you come up with a plan and implement it.
Example: Say that part of your goal is to be healthier. Okay, so this is a sub-paradigm of the new you, your level of health. Your goal becomes to improve your health. You decide that you can accomplish this simply by eating healthier. Now we focus on changing or replacing our thoughts, ideas and habits about eating.
As we embrace the idea of eating healthier foods and concentrate on what we could do differently, we notice that some of our decisions and habits as to what to eat changes. What we snack on changes. And what to not eat and not snack on changes. We also notice that how we feel after eating is different too. And this new, different feeling, becomes our new expectation of how to feel after eating.
They say it takes a minimum of 21 repetitions to change or ingrain a new habit. So maintain your focus for at least 3 weeks to a month to really establish this new paradigm. And even revisit it on occasion until it is truly the new you. And then, like the shampoo bottle says, “Rinse and Repeat” with the next goal on your list.
Other methods, such as meditation, can help incorporate these changes too. If you are familiar with meditation, by all means enlist it’s help. Maybe that is another goal, to start meditating. Incorporate it into your efforts, or go ahead and learn it first and then start what you are working on here. Persistence is the key.
Another key is to keep thinking, concentrating on what you want – it really does make a difference. The mind is powerful, more powerful than most give it credit for.
Dean Springer is a Thinking Into Results Facilitator who works with individuals, groups and companies to achieve life and business results they are not able to achieve on their own.
Contact Dean at: dbs@softaos.com; via website: www.softaos.com; or directly by phone 612-382-7376.