It seems so much easier to continue functioning in old familiar habit patterns than to make the effort to change. After all, making changes in one’s life requires identifying what different outcomes you desire and what actions needed to make those outcomes manifest. Then there is the planning, practice, persistence and progress required to make those changes automatic. Lots of conscious effort goes into attaining those changes you resolved to make on Jan. 1.
Psychologists know that most all desired changes begin with changing your thinking patterns. Someone once said: “Learning equals change.” We are encouraged to never stop learning. In fact, we know that when you stop learning, you stop adapting. When you stop adapting to constant change, you really stop living. We can conclude that continued learning is necessary to live a full and abundant life.
There are certain attitudes and thoughts that stop our learning, stop our changing. In his book, “Personal Accountability,” John G. Miller writes: “My self-talk is my thinking and, in order to learn, I need to identify and change what I say to myself.”
Some stoppers
If you really want to stop learning, here are some thinking patterns and attitudes you can adopt — or continue.
STOPPER No. 1: “I’m too old to learn anything new.” Translation: “I’m too lazy [scared, comfortable, or set in my ways] to make the effort to learn new habits.” Change is constant. When you don’t learn new skills, habits and behavior, you usually discover that change increases your stress level.
STOPPER No. 2: “This new stuff looks pretty good, but it really doesn’t apply to me.” Translation: I am the exception. Change is really for others, not me. It’s OK with me if everyone else wants to change, but I’m not going to because it doesn’t apply to my life.
STOPPER No. 3: “I really don’t think this will work or be any good.” Translation: “I have nothing to gain, nothing to learn, and this change is not worthwhile.” If I don’t see any benefit to learning new stuff, I’m not going to try. I don’t see that learning anything new enriches my life.
STOPPER No. 4: “I already know this stuff.” Translation: “I’m so arrogant that I believe I can’t learn anything from anyone else, especially if I’ve had more training or education than others.” Mark Twain once said: “If there ever was more to learn, then they wouldn’t be expert no more.”
STOPPER No. 5: “I’m entitled to have the change(s) I want.” Translation: “You owe me an education (new job, lots of whatever, and success) because I’m so good. I don’t want to have to work at learning or changing.
STOPPER No. 6: “I don’t like the teacher. Therefore, I’m not going to learn what s/he is teaching me.” Translation: “Because I don’t like the message, I am going to shoot the messenger.”
STOPPER No. 7: “Why is all this happening to me anyway?” Translation: “I am a victim of (fill in the blank). Therefore, I am helpless to make any change or learn anything new.”
If you recognize any of the above learning stoppers within yourself, you will probably never realize the benefits you resolved to attain just two short weeks ago. Change your thinking and you change your life.
By Lloyd Thomas
