Okay- like the joke and it got me thinking. Conditioning is something we are born into which wraps itself around us like invisible thread. My first reaction to the word conditioning is negative. It makes me think of the way society conditions us, beginning with family and cultural traits, religions, advertising, news- in fact, basically we're like products who are in receipt of other people's conditions 24/7.
Some of this is excellent. We acquire emotional, social and intellectual blueprints, many of which serve us well, and whilst we are still children we benefit from having guidance and boundaries. Once we mature however the things we have always believed may no longer be of benefit and sometimes having been bound so tightly by expectations, we create paths in life that do not suit us.
Let's consider this fun picture. Yes it made me laugh and is a brilliant commercial product no doubt. However in this age of independent women there are many ways you can look at this! On a serious note, women are generally nurtured to one set of expectations and men to another. This nurturing ensures we see the world and our future in a very particular way from a young age, These perceptions will change with each generation as society is constantly evolving, therefore family structure has come a long way from married opposite sex parents with 2.4 children to a whole range of different combinations. Part of becoming an adult for all us is to challenge our thinking and those with true insight realise that the past cannot dictate the future. We have the power to break free from the conditions that have dominated our lives and become the person we wish to be. This power relies on practice and means that we need to recondition ourselves, change our thinking, change our self-perception, change out habits, change our expectations and stop being hard on ourselves during each new learning process. When we are kind to ourselves and focus on being happy we will be able to work at the process more easily and create good results.
If there's something within yourself or in your life that you really don't like, change it. If you want a new home, travel, different type of lifestyle- change it. You really do have that ability and there are endless resources from motivational material to education, even functions that help you expand your mind. When you have some aims you will find you meet people who are thinking in a similar way and that is one of the keys to success. Yes there will be sacrifices, things that fall away but remember, you can be bound to mediocrity or bound for success!
Jaz McKenzie ~ The Word Magician
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