101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think - Chapter 1

1
SUBCONSCIOUS
BEHAVIORS
that are
KEEPING YOU
from HAVING
THE LIFE
YOU WANT
Every generation has a “monoculture” of sorts, a governing pattern
or system of beliefs that people unconsciously accept as “truth.”
It’s easy to identify the monoculture of Germany in the 1930s or
America in 1776. It’s clear what people at those times, in those
places, accepted to be “good” and “true” even when in reality, that
was certainly not always the case.
The objectivity required to see the effects of present monoculture is
very difficult to develop. Once you have so deeply accepted an idea
as “truth” it doesn’t register as “cultural” or “subjective” anymore.
So much of our inner turmoil is the result of conducting a life we
don’t inherently desire, only because we have accepted an inner
narrative of “normal” and “ideal” without ever realizing.
The fundamentals of any given monoculture tend to surround what
we should be living for (nation, religion, self, etc.) and there are a
number of ways in which our current system has us shooting
ourselves in the feet as we try to step forward. Here, 8 of the most
pervasive.
01. You believe that creating your best life is a matter of deciding
what you want and then going after it, but in reality, you are
psychologically incapable
1 of being able to predict what will
make you happy.
Your brain can only perceive what it’s known, so when you
choose what you want for the future, you’re actually just
recreating a solution or an ideal of the past. When things
don’t work out the way you want them to, you think you’ve
failed only because you didn’t re-create something you
perceived as desirable. In reality, you likely created
something better, but foreign, and your brain misinterpreted it
as “bad” because of that. (Moral of the story: Living in the
moment isn’t a lofty ideal reserved for the Zen and
enlightened; it’s the only way to live a life that isn’t infiltrated
with illusions. It’s the only thing your brain can actually
comprehend.)
02. You extrapolate the present moment because you believe
that success is somewhere you “arrive,” so you are constantly
trying to take a snapshot of your life and see if you can be
happy yet.
You convince yourself that any given moment is
representative of your life as a whole. Because we’re wired to
believe that success is somewhere we get to—when goals
are accomplished and things are completed—we’re
constantly measuring our present moments by how “finished”
they are, how good the story sounds, how someone else
would judge the elevator speech. We find ourselves thinking:
“Is this all there is?” because we forget that everything is
transitory, and no one single instance can summarize the
whole. There is nowhere to “arrive” to. The only thing you’re
rushing toward is death. Accomplishing goals is not success.
How much you expand in the process is.
03. You assume that when it comes to following your “gut
instincts,” happiness is “good” and fear and pain are “bad.”
When you consider doing something that you truly love and
are invested in, you are going to feel an influx of fear and
pain, mostly because it will involve being vulnerable. Bad
feelings should not always be interpreted as deterrents. They
are also indicators that you are doing something frightening
and worthwhile. Not wanting to do something would make
you feel indifferent about it. Fear = interest.
04. You needlessly create problems and crises in your life
because you’re afraid of actually living it.
The pattern of unnecessarily creating crises in your life is
actually an avoidance technique. It distracts you from actually
having to be vulnerable or held accountable for whatever it is
you’re afraid of. You’re never upset for the reason you think
you are: At the core of your desire to create a problem is
simply the fear of being who you are and living the life you
want.
05. You think that to change your beliefs, you have to adopt a
new line of thinking, rather than seek experiences that make
that thinking self-evident.
A belief is what you know to be true because experience has
made it evident to you. If you want to change your life,
change your beliefs. If you want to change your beliefs, go
out and have experiences that make them real to you. Not the
opposite way around.
06. You think “problems” are roadblocks to achieving what you
want, when in reality they are pathways.
Marcus Aurelius sums this up well: “The impediment to action
advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Simply, running into a “problem” forces you to take action to
resolve it. That action will inevitably lead you to think
differently, behave differently, and choose differently. The
“problem” becomes a catalyst for you to actualize the life you
always wanted. It pushes you from your comfort zone, that’s
all.

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