This is MY Paradigm, what's yours?

I had to look up the word PARADIGM yesterday because on Monday I had an experience that exactly describes what my mentor, Bob Proctor, has been talking about for over 50 years.

Bob defines PARADIGM as “a multitude of habits” that make up the self-image we each have and that self-image determines our behaviors. He also states that this “multitude of habits” are habits that are not even our own! They are the habits that have been deposited into our sub-conscious minds when we were too young to have the ability to use our conscious minds.

Webster’s New World Dictionary website defines PARADIGM as: Noun:  1.a. a pattern, example or model. 

So...for quite some time I have been a little confused by this concept and distracted by the thought that I was being ‘attacked’ as a defenseless baby by my parents, other relatives and the media at large! J Monday night I finally reached totally clarity.

We all have a concept of ourselves; of who we are, what we look like, how we behave, etc. The idea of ‘self’ began very early in our lives as we absorbed the environment around us and became conscious of our individuality. Although I am not an expert in the Human Development field of study, this basic fact is pretty well known and a relatively easy concept to accept.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2014 is to change certain behaviors that I have developed over the past several years and that have become a PARADIGM controlling my self-image. This one has nothing at all to do with my parents. At my age, I’ve lived long enough to develop my own PARADIGM! J

Some of the behaviors I want to change are getting my household chores done in a timely fashion, control game playing on the computer and other electronic devices, put my office (and the rest of my home) in a reasonable state of organization and thereby create time and space for creative and productive activities.

It’s not important right now to explore the reasons why I have become such a miserable case of procrastination and a time waster but that is what I’ve become since about 2007. But on Monday, I had a fantastic day!

I began my day with my study in self-development as usual and jumped fairly quickly into the chores for the day. My goal for the day was to get the grocery shopping done and the cat chores done before that. I moved through my day with determination and purpose. When the vacuum cleaner quit working in the midst of cleaning the bedroom, I simply took it in stride and moved on to the next chore, grateful knowing that my husband would be able to fix it later.

All the cats in the house had some freedom and playtime before being fed their first meal for the day. They were all happy and content. The outside cats had also been given love, fresh water, dry food and had their litter box cleaned.

I took off for Pocatello around mid-afternoon feeling very accomplished while listening to a Bob Proctor audio in the car on the way in. I did all the shopping I had intended to do and even bought meat that I had resolved to wrap and freeze as soon as I got home (not leave it in the fridge to go bad a week later!). All this I did and more...laundry, dishes and I even cooked dinner and we ate before 10:00 pm! Seriously...I actually got the meal prepared by 6:15 pm! I was so involved in getting everything done that I wanted to get done that, for a change, I was not even conscious of pain in my body! I was having a really stellar day! In fact, by 9:45 pm, all of my chores were done and all the cats, inside and out, lovingly put to bed!

Then, like driving into a brick wall at 60mph, my PARADIGM hit me so hard I almost suffered whiplash! It was like: “Wow! You’re all done. You deserve a treat! After all, you can’t keep up this constructive behavior forever! Who do you think you are? Mrs. Superhero? And who cares if you do anyway?” And I sat down at my computer and began to play a game...and then again...and again...until it was 2:00 am! And to top THAT off...I accidentally spilled a full glass of wine all over my worktable and desktop calculator!

I think we used to call this the Temptation of the Devil! 

Behold! ...The devil is YOU! J

This is what is meant by PARADIGM. It is one’s own self-image that is so totally ingrained in one’s sub-conscious that it has complete control over one’s behaviors.

In the past, I would have been so disgusted with myself that I would think that I am a ‘lost cause’ and that there is no point in trying to improve myself. But this time I am thankful to be able to see and understand what happened to me. I can certainly see that I need plenty more work on my self-image, that’s for sure!

This week’s affirmation is, “I am a productive, organized woman who loves living in a clean environment. I get my chores done in a timely fashion and I have plenty of free time to pursue my studies and creative goals. I never waste time and always get plenty of beneficial nutrition and sleep.”

Take THAT...you PARADIGM, you!