This is a difficult question to answer for many people around us, including ourselves, as we wonder why we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. Isn’t making a mistake once enough to see the alternate route we could have taken? Perhaps it isn’t that we don’t realize our mistakes, but that it is impossible to change our nature. Today we invite you to a discussion on if people can indeed change.
In order for a person to become who they are today, they must have gone through a series of experiences, observations, and situations to become that way. It therefore makes sense that as a result of their next observations and experiences, they will once again shape the person they become in the future. It is true after all that many of us change but only with age and through cycles. We are all very different in our beliefs, habits, and goals when we are in our 20’s versus in our 40’s.
So is it an age thing? Why is it so difficult to change?
Its not difficult to change and it certainly is possible, the reality though, is that it takes time. Remember that in your earlier days, you are younger and as a result, are only consuming information from everywhere which is what makes you who you are. As you get older, however, all the information you receive must be processed and validated based on all your past beliefs and therefore the re-enforcement of such information is needed for you to actually accept change. In other words, when you are young you absorb about 80% of what you see, and as you grow older and make sense of all you absorb, you only absorb about 10% of what you see, especially if its not something you are used to seeing.
In the Third Circle Theory, we go much more in-depth with how to train your mind to undergo change and actually teach you why rehab and all those other man made tools to create change really miss the mark when it comes to changing addictions or bad habits.
In order for true change to occur in you, two key categories must be addressed: Belief and Habit.
Belief helps you comprehend and accept what is possible as an outcome. If you don’t believe you can change and that a more desirable outcome is possible, then you never do.
Habit on the other hand is linked to practicing the action of change. No one action is going to change you, but the repetitive actions you undertake to help change will eventually turn into habit and a new way to live therefore exists. All of this of course only possible if you believe that the change can occur.
The more you practice, the more likely you are to succeed. Change can happen within all of us and as a race, we are capable of adapting to the environments we live in which is why we adapt to cultures and ways of living with each new city or country we live in. However, as adaptation takes time, so does true change especially as you get older. The same can be said about why it is more difficult for an older adult to adapt a new language vs a 15 year old starting in a new country. The lack of practice, belief, and action leads to much slower change or no change vs the younger person’s almost immediate adaptation as his need for survival and evolution depends on it.
