Have you ever looked at your habits or the way you react and handle events in your life? Stage Four from the book A Path through the Jungle by author Prof Steve Peters looks at how habits are formed and how we can change ours habits and our beliefs and behaviors in order that we can act instead of reacting to experiences in our lives. Again, we look at the chimp, or innate reactive piece of ourselves, the computer which is our “programmed” piece of ourselves, and the human, the rational and logical piece of ourselves.
Habits are formed when we carry out a pattern of behavior or thinking that we deem to be successful or satisfying. If we do it and it works and it satisfies, we repeat it, and it leads to an automatic programmed action that is carried out without being challenged. Neurons are changed and added in the brain, new pathways formed, and the computer is programmed.
To change our habits, beliefs, and behaviors, we must become aware of what we are doing, saying, and acting. We must observe ourselves and decide what serves and what doesn’t. Then we have to challenge the habitual behavior or thought as we notice it, and we have to replace it with something that works and is satisfying. The new behavior or thought comes from the human creating a logical plan or response and repeating it over and over until it is programmed in the computer.
Events and experiences in our lives trigger responses, and if we have not programmed a more logical response, the chimp in us can act out to an extreme. It is important that we learn how to accept and make sense of life events and move on from them. Some are easy to move on from and others, especially life changing events, can be more difficult. With simple events, we can accept the reality of the facts and work with them to move forward. With more difficult events, especially when grief is involved, we can develop emotional scars and we need to learn how to manage the common feelings that come with change and loss in order to manage emotional scars. We may have to work through the stages of denial, bargaining, yearning, anger, disorganization, and then finally move to organization and moving forward.
So much to consider and to learn about ourselves. The sooner we look at ourselves, our habits, our beliefs, and our behaviors, the sooner we can decide what is the best for us. Then we can make the changes.
So come explore your chimp, human, and computer with us, Grandmother Pa’Ris’Ha, me and the other international co-hosts, create our better self and a better world on Quantum Leap Book Club on Law of Attraction Radio Network at https://www.loaradionetwork.com/quantum-leap or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thequantumleapbookclub
Co-Host – Tryna Cooper – Ca’Nu’Ye