Obstacles to Becoming

Two obstacles:
Conditioning and Consistency.

I

Conditioning is the past.

What we learned from our parents, school, society. How we think. How we behave. What we believe.

It is mindless repetition (a circle).

II

Consistency is the future.

The choice to let go our former self and become who we are meant to be, through consistent daily practice.

It is effortful evolution (an upward spiral).

III

An illustration.

We may have learned to react to our missteps with self-criticism, blame, and punishment.

At some point, we may become aware of the following:

First, self-criticism fails to teach. It lacks the wisdom to help us evolve. Thus, when we self-criticize, we increase our chances of repeating our misstep.

Second, an alternative response is curiosity. Curiosity inquires and enlightens. Thus, when we become curious about our misstep, we decrease our chances of repeating our misstep.

And, when we consistently choose curiosity, we become who we are meant to be.