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Most of us have experienced what we would define as a paradigm shift. One day we thought a certain way and then it seems like overnight, we shifted to a different way of viewing the world. Many of us probably have experienced several clearly defined shifts. Your paradigm is how you view your world, your life.
What if you could pick your Paradigm Shifts?
Most of us have experienced what we would define as a paradigm shift. One day we thought a certain way and then it seems like overnight, we shifted to a different way of viewing the world. Many of us probably have experienced several clearly defined shifts. Your paradigm is how you view your world, your life. It is your unique lens that you use to interpret data and experiences. It is also the lens that you use to make choices.
Often, in order to make different choices, we need a new paradigm, a different lens. I recall one of the most dramatic shifts that I have experienced in my entire life. It was 1994. I was in my mid twenties, pregnant, and on bed rest for about eleven weeks with my oldest daughter. I had been extremely active, even teaching aerobics classes into my sixth month. Then, due to preterm labor, I had to lay on my side, except for three minutes every hour, when I could get up. I was also on medication that made my thoughts race and my hands shake. I felt trapped in my own body.
My mother sent me the book, 7 Habits for Highly effective People, by Stephen Covey. As I read his book and his stories about Anwar Sadat and Viktor Frankl; I experienced the paradigm shift of realizing that I truly was free, more free than I had ever been, because my mind was truly free. This book created a quantum leap in thinking for me; which eventually led me to writing my own books and becoming a life coach.Though my shift happened through a series of circumstances, I started posing the question to my clients, what if you could pick your paradigm shift? One requirement to be able to pick your paradigm shift, is being able to raise your consciousness (way of thinking, your level of awareness) above your current level of consciousness.
A great way to raise your consciousness is to ask…”What if?” questions without any limitations. Other keys to paradigm shifts are to: keep learning; try on new ways of thinking; try new things; take part in active discussions; and commit to staying open. Why would you want to experience paradigm shifts? Shifts are central to growth, change, progressing, and enlightenment.
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