Changing Your Mind

Progress is not possible without change, and those who can not change their minds cannot change anything. – George Bernard Shaw

I like routine. My husband frequently teases me because he says I have a “breakfast routine,” a “walking the dog routine,” a “getting ready for bed routine,” and others. You probably have your share of routines as well.

Inevitably, however, change happens and derails my routines. I’m sure this happens to you, as well. Sometimes the changes are minor and/or temporary. A detour appears on your usual drive to the office. You hurt your leg and need crutches for a while. You prepare for a meeting only to have it cancelled. Other changes are far more significant and permanent.

Change happens, but luckily you have the potential to navigate, accept, innovate, and find resilience through whatever change comes your way, especially when you understand the brilliant design of your mind.

For example, Sydney was the General Manager of a business unit of a large global company. The pandemic further stressed her already underperforming business area, and the company decided to reorganize and merge business units. The change was not a surprise to Sydney. In fact, she agreed with the strategic decision. She was surprised, however, when she was not chosen to lead the newly merged business unit. Self-doubt followed and she began to spiral downward.

Fortunately, Sydney realized what was happening inside her mind, which made all the difference. She woke up to her mental monologue and to the fact that her feeling state was coming from her mental monologue – not from the change in her leadership status. Once she connected her thinking to her feelings, she settled down. This freed her mind, and what came next was a flow of new thoughts and common sense ideas for embracing the changes and the new leadership.

As another example, Bob had been a Reliability Engineer for a manufacturing company for 2 years. He really enjoyed his job and was good at it. His mentor suggested he apply for a new, much more challenging position. Bob initially dismissed the suggestion. He did not want to make a change. Why would he want to leave a role he liked?

Soon thereafter, Bob began learning about how the mind worked and the capacity of the mind to bring new thinking. It occurred to him to do some reflection. Yes, he was very comfortable in his current role but that did not happen right away. There was a steep learning curve initially and he eased into the job slowly. Wouldn’t this new opportunity be similar? Wasn’t he a good learner? He liked the people on his current team but there were many dedicated and bright people in the company, and having experience in a different part of the business might add to his knowledge base.

As Bob reflected, more and more questions and wonderings came to mind. He noticed something. His mind began to change and he decided to apply for the new position.

It is important to note that both Sydney and Bob experienced their minds changing, but neither of them worked at it. This is the brilliance of the design of the mind. Helpful new thoughts can pop in at any time, allowing you to change your mind and adapt to what is. Sydney realized that she was not a bad leader simply because she was not chosen for this particular position. Bob opened his mind to a new opportunity.

The moment you wake up to the thought-created nature of your experience, your focus shifts from outside causes to inside causes. You see where your thinking is taking you and what that feels like. Unnecessary and unwanted thoughts fall away. Your mind settles and clears. The innate capacity of your mind to know what is best for you naturally emerges and you see what to do to navigate life’s changes.

This natural process has worked for you countless times. Change is going to happen. It is good to know that your mind has the capacity to navigate it gracefully and effectively..