The status quo is defined as the accepted way of doing things, the path of least resistance. We tell ourselves that the way we live is the only way to live. In short, the very definition of what we think of as a comfort blanket. When our routines are undisturbed and firmly in place, we feel safe and ‘at home’ and rarely if ever do we ask ourselves if this blanket is as comfortable as we believe it to be.
Just think, if our ancestors had resisted change the way that some of us do, we would still be living in caves and all the technology that we rely on nowadays wouldn’t even exist.
It can’t be denied that these disruptions to our lives, necessary as they may have been, have caused anxiety and even real discomfort to many.
Over the last twenty four months, plans for family get-togethers, partes, lunches and annual holidays have all had to be changed or cancelled. For our young people, getting out and about with friends or creating new alliances on the journey into further education or the workplace looked very different from what we think of as normal and definitely bore absolutely no resemblance to what we and they expected.
I have lost count of the number of conversations I have had with people who have been lamenting the fact that they can’t get back to doing the things they are used to doing and how hard they have found it. Life without our usual routines can feel daunting and even scary and the fact that every change offers a new opportunity is often not the first thing that springs to mind when we feel that we are being dragged into a new reality and that we are being forced to alter our cherished habits. After all, if we don’t do what we always did, what do we do?
Even change we welcome, new partners, exciting career opportunities, house moves or the birth of a new baby, mean that we are giving something up. We may know in our hearts that we have outgrown the job we have done for years, the house we raised our families in or that relationship we thought would last forever but somehow the anxiety that can get in our way clouds our thinking and prevents us from welcoming what could be a brilliant opportunity.
Often it is the habits we have developed over months and years that freeze us in position and prevent us moving forward. We get used to visiting the same coffee shops, going to our regular hairdressers, reading our favourite newspapers or magazines and eating the same food. These familiar habits give our lives stability but if we want to make changes in our lives it is these very habits that we need to let go of.
This last two years have been really challenging for so many of us but, in among the restrictions, are so many invitations to make changes that will serve us all as we go forward. Maybe it presents us with an opportunity to let go of the patterns we have got used to. As the old saying goes, ‘if we do what we always do, we get what we always got’
Why not get in touch to find out how Hypnotherapy and Coaching with NLP can support you to make the changes you want to make in your life.
Don’t Agonise, Orrganise!