Of course this is only scratching the surface on the ailments widespread today and also excludes a lot of things. But it is fair to say that Henry David Thoreau's assessment, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," is still accurate. As NLPers we know that the "map is not the territory" and there is SO much more each of us could enjoy if we just 'opened our eyes and came back to our senses'. The question is how?
So the first major realisiation if you want to live a higher quality of life is this: Realise that you are run by your habits, then take specific steps to change them!
Dr. Richard Bandler and John Grinder, in the Structure of Magic 1 wrote "people block themselves from seeing those options and possibilities that are open to them since they are not available in their models of their world". Whether you're enlightened or a ignorant, we all block ourselves (often unknowingly) from experiencing a higher and better quality of life than is possible for us.
After decades of studying all manner of fields, I've come to the realization that there are really only a few, perhaps a handful of patterns that are having a MASSIVE impact on each of our lives. The patterns will be different for each of us, but everyone has their own unique set. But there are a set of, what we might call, global patterns that show up for each of us and typically dictate how we respond.
These patterns are specific habitual ways of thinking, behaving and feeling that show up again and again in your life. And whether you would realise it or not are, to a lesser or greater effect, controlling the experience, quality and output of your life.Just like a gush of water running down a pipe, through conditioning it consistently takes the left path over the right. Robert Anton Wilson described it as "a strong set of .. beliefs appears to neuroscience, as an imprinted … learned network of bio-chemical REFLEXES in the cortex of the brain". When they fire off, they produce the same conditioned response (unless they receive a different stimulus).
As NLPers this makes a lot of sense. A secret to doing great change work is to scramble/alter someone's strategy at the choice point (decision gate) before the behavior gets "fired off". But first you need to become aware that there is a "habit" going on. Aristotle said that "Excellence is not an act but a habit". And habits are nothing more than ritualized and usually 'other than conscious ways or responding.
So the first major realisation if you want to live a higher quality of life is this: Realise that you are run by your habits, then take specific steps to change them!
This doesn't mean you don't have conscious choice, rather what you are looking to do is put that muscle into action and intentionally establish the habits or RITUALS you are going to live by. Think of these as automatic programs you run, that truly serve you, and allow you to enjoy the most out of any given moment. It's a widely held belief that 99% of the thoughts, feelings and behaviors you experienced yesterday were the same as you did the day before that and the day before that. What you want to do is break out of the mold of same-old-same-old, and bring more conscious awareness and directed force into your life.