How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It’s easy to be impatient about wanting to change one’s life. This particularly happens when we have just gained awareness of what it is that needs to be changed. Usually when we discover a dysfunctional pattern or destructive way of thinking, we get down on ourselves for it. This treatment of ourselves is exactly the pattern we are trying to avoid. We might feel bad because we think we are just too old to have to make changes now. Think of all those years that have gone by when we could have been living life correctly. Change, however, happens at its own pace. Often we can’t have exacting control over it. If you force it, it resists. If you don’t push it, it never happens.
Changing how you view the truth about anything means reprogramming yourself. Whatever attitude, idea, or belief about the world you have can be altered to give you better results in your life. You begin by identifying that attitude, idea, or belief that needs to be changed. Then you notice where in your life that idea shows up. Every time it shows up just become aware of it. In the beginning, you may become aware and judge yourself for having a dysfunctional thought pattern. Your first challenge then is to have awareness without judgment. You may not easily be aware of your thinking process. Try noticing your behavior and reflect on what idea is its source. For example, if you know what would make you happy and you don’t set up situations to give yourself happiness, then ask yourself what you might be saying to yourself to keep the happiness away. You might be thinking “I don’t deserve it”. “I’m no good”, or “I can’t change enough to have happiness in my life.” Look within yourself for what idea might be running you.
After you have been able to consistently identify what belief needs to be changed without judging yourself, your next step is to remember that you have a choice about continuing to believe it or not. You have a choice at any moment…now…now…and now. We learned from my Empty Vessel Process that there is no absolute truth about anything and it is whatever you want to make of it. Remember that you have a choice about anything you want to believe and keep yourself in that space of knowing you have that choice. You don’t have to make any choices now. Just live in the moment, knowing you have a choice, and don’t be critical of yourself that you may not be acting on them.
The third step in eating our elephant to change the way you think is to make the choices that will lead to the results you want. In this phase of your transformation, you may not consistently choose the “right” way of thinking and again don’t fault yourself. Instead remember how to eat the elephant.
If you try any step in this process of reprogramming and you see that your bad habits of self-criticism come up, then revert back to the previous step and be comfortable with it before you move on again. When you consistently choose your new attitude to live by, it soon becomes automatic. However, being an automaton is not the goal of personal development. It helps to have things turn out quickly and efficiently, but don’t forget that each unique situation deserves a unique response. Be aware when your automatic processing occurs and you will avoid any possible hazards. Indigestion from eating an elephant is something you don’t need.