Experience new things to create new results.
Your life experiences create your beliefs.
Beliefs are the basis of all your actions.
Actions propagate your results.
To get new results we need to start at the beginning. We need new experiences to create new routines..
Everything we have experienced, all that we have gone through, creates the basis for our decision making. It dictates the actions we feel are available to us and influences which path we choose.
“We are the sum total of our experiences. Those experiences – be they positive or negative – make us the person we are, at any given point in our lives. And, like a flowing river, those same experiences, and those yet to come, continue to influence and reshape the person we are, and the person we become. None of us are the same as we were yesterday, nor will be tomorrow.” – B.J. Neblett
When we are able to see the pattern that these experiences and beliefs have built in our lives; when we are able to see how the routines that we move through each and every day are predicting the eventual outcomes; then we have the opportunity to create change.
If we want a different outcome we need to start at the beginning.
When I start my day with stewed apples or oatmeal I am making a conscious choice to do something different. For me it is avoiding flour. I am choosing to keep my eating cleaner with that choice. It is a choice that has cumulative effects and at that moment offers me a tiny boost, because I am not defaulting to my old pattern of eating toast for breakfast.
To change our results we need to take different actions. To do this we need to start curating new experiences that can challenge our established beliefs.
To become the next version of myself, or to allow the person that I already am to shine, I need new experiences to build new relevant beliefs. Even the small step of a new breakfast choice puts me on a trajectory to new results.
This is how we mould new habits. We experience them, and try new things. Starting at the foundation and building up, we intentionally design each part of the process.
Create Experiences to Learn: In Yoga, we use the word embody, to bring something into the physical experience so that our senses can feel it. This allows knowledge to move from being theoretical to experiential and offers us a greater ability to absorb and learn. When we experience something we make concepts and ideas more tangible with a practical application that allows them to become tools.
Identify Limiting Beliefs: When a simple step is difficult, it is usually because we hold a contrary belief. It is essential to notice, investigate and challenge this belief by finding a higher truth. If we start to choose our actions based on the new higher truth our choices will align with our goals.
Design Your Action Step: Having more awareness of the process helps us choose an action step instead of defaulting into an old one. This is where practicing small continuous improvement is important, allowing us to always see one new step that we can do without adding stress. As we practice making conscious choices we build muscle memory for the new experiences and beliefs that support our next version of ourselves.
Hardwire Results:
“By taking just a few extra seconds to stay with a positive experience – even the comfort in a single breath – you’ll help turn a passing mental state into a lasting neural trait.” – Rick Hanson
Celebrate success each time we recognize a step to personal wellness, the genius of our dharma: or a reliable process to good sleep, good energy, and good nourishment. Celebrate with a breath and conscious moment to really absorb our positive experience. This makes our results easier to recreate, as our body hardwires the path it took to get here.
Shine a light on all that is you. Recognize that we are a product of our environment. Make choices to architect our environment differently and new results will be realized. Start with the experiences.
I love finding new ways to describe what happens at Jill Novak Yoga. This sweet chart felt like it lent itself so easily to the process at the ‘Year of YOU’, where we design and evolve 10 habits, testing our higher truths and taking actions to new and extraordinary results. Such juicy stuff!!
This pyramid is part of how I teach a yoga class, how I deliver workshops, and the basis of the Fireweed Yoga Teaching training program. Right now I am trying to see if I can also adapt it virtually and apply it to my new facebook group.
If you want to test out new ways of being and living your life purpose (that word Dharma again) then start practicing by creating new experiences for yourself. It is where the magic begins.