How To Reprogram Stinkin' Thinkin'
As many of you may already know, I'm obsessed with excellence and the unfathomable power of human beings. As I shared in Tuesdays Daily Inspiration (DI) Embrace The Balance, we are all perfectly imperfect with far more in common than different. Though each of us are magnificent, unique, never before duplicated miracles, we are all born with only two natural fears:
The fear of falling
The fear of loud noises
Everything else is programmed...everything. How you think is a direct result of the programming that has been inputted (allowed) in your mind through your five (5) senses. What you've seen, tasted, touched, smelled, heard, been taught, comprehended or experienced will determine your predominant mental programming. When perhaps caught in the conundrum of 'nature vs. nurture' in how we become the person we are today, this in essence is the nurture part of how we learn to show up in the world.
In computer programming there is an acronym called G.I.G.O. It stands for Garbage In Garbage Out. Whatever you program a computer to do, it can only process the information that was inputted to then calculate the appropriate outcome. If the information that was inputted is garbage, guess what the outcome will be? Pretty simple to understand and think of regarding a computer isn’t it? However, most of us have no clue that it’s the same thing with our brains. How we respond to circumstances, which is all we can control, is a direct reflection of the predominant programming that is in our noggin’s.
From 1993-2000, I spent seven years working with and coaching the best athletes on the planet at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It’s almost impossible to understand how great these athletes are unless you’ve experienced it. Like professional athletes, they are truly the best of the best. I can share with you from experience that at that level, most athletes in the world have a physical gift (nature) that you can’t coach and it’s pretty even across the board. All of them are gifted in some aspect of their physicality. The difference between the ones who make the team, medal and those that don’t are the six inches between their ears. How they “think” is the difference between an Olympic medalist and not making the cut. To foster that mindset, we consciously infused them with daily (over)doses of positive affirmations, images, visualization, psychological training, audio and video programming, and surrounded them with likeminded individuals who have accomplished what they hope to achieve in support of giving these athletes the best opportunity to accomplish their goals.
“What’s this got to do with me,” you might ask; EVERYTHING I'd say! You don’t have to have the physical gifts of an Olympian to “think” like one. All we have to do is give ourselves daily (over)doses of positive input to counterbalance the for sure negative programming we will get just by being alive! It’s called most of the people around us, the garbage we read, watch and listen to.
People – It’s been said that people can be put in one of three categories:
Those that can help you – They talk about concepts and ideas…always looking to support, nurture and bring out our best.
Those that can hurt you – They talk about other people…usually belittling, condescending, negative, and whine about ‘everything’!
Those that really don’t matter – They talk about things and stuff that ain’t got nothing to do with nothing productive. (BTW, all people matter...we're talking about your circle of influence)
Read – Most people stop reading to learn the moment they exit the doors of a learning institution. Leaders are readers
Watch/Listen – If your daily input of what you watch and listen to is primarily news, social media and television and does not include educational, inspirational or motivational programming that lights you up…G.I.G.O.!
As Einstein so powerfully shared, "we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” We've got to get a new level of thinking. If you’re not getting what you want out of life, everything seems to be an emergency, you feel stressed, overwhelmed, unproductive and aren't accomplishing your dreams and desires; all we need to do is get a checkup from the neck up and reprogram our stinkin’ thinkin’. It may be easier said than done but living into your full potential is worth any and everything you'd need to change to achieve it.
Believe…