WE HAVE all been brainwashed by the past. We have been conditioned by previous experiences. From the time of our birth, we have been conditioned and subjected to the influences of other people. The conditioning started with our parents and was continued by our teachers and peers as we went through life.
The conditioning was, and still is, an integral part of your life including in the workplace. What is important is how you use what you have learnt. You are set apart in the animal kingdom by your maker and consequently you are unique. You were given the freedom of choice, the right to make your own decisions.
This is easier said than done. It is for this reason that most of what you do, say or think comes from your past and your exposure to previous conditioning.
Is it bad? The past is full of both good and bad experiences, which in turn lead to both good and bad memories. So, what is so wrong about letting the experiences of the past control the present or the future?
It is often said we should learn from the past or should learn from our mistakes. Putting it differently, I would say why not learn from the successes of the past?
I have made many mistakes in my lifetime and in my work life, but have also had many successes. However, the successes far outweigh the failures.
Why dwell on the negative rather than reinforce and repeat the successes of the past, the success of others? They have already made their mistakes. Just follow their success patterns and don’t even think about their failures.
The tendency in life for the majority of people, including employees, is to dwell on the negatives. It is human nature.
Is it an easy way out? Is it easier to place the blame somewhere else? Does it make it easier for us to fail yet again? Does the resulting self-pity ease the burden of failure – after all it’s not my fault, I always do the wrong things, I couldn’t help it.
You know many people, I am sure, who think this way? Are you one of them?
Look at any area of life where things appear to be continually going wrong and try to remember one time when it went right.
Good. So what did you do differently? Why did you do it right?
Now ask yourself if this can be repeated under similar circumstances?
Yes, it can. What is required is a slight shift of focus, a step out of the negative habit and the negative mode you have become accustomed to and into the new positive.
Dwell on the positives only. See only the successes and discard all negative and useless information and experiences.
The world is full of negatives. Unfortunately, you and I are continually being bombarded with negative news reports on TV, radio and in the press.
You can accept or reject what is reported in the media. If you accept some of it, you are potentially accepting more negatives into your life. You are allowing the negatives to take hold and to dictate your actions and feelings. You will give away your freedom and your right to decide.
Self-power is permanent and no one can take it away from you. You have the right to choose. You can give your power away, you can throw it away, you can squander it or you can lose it.
What is important is to remember that you can also use it. It is yours, no one else should have it.
Now is the time to take back your power, take back what is yours. Become the master of your own destiny. Take control of your thoughts and beliefs.
Now is the time to create your own reality. Now is the time to live in the now and to stop living in the past. Now is the time to stop living in the world of the negative and to look forward to creating a positive world for yourself and those you come into contact with.
Des Squire is a managing member at AMSI and Associates. Email [email protected].
