Inducing Consciousness is a SMART goal!
Here's why...
Inducing consciousness means to be more self-aware of yourself and your surroundings. It’s like leaving your house in the morning and remembering to put on your glasses before you face the world. It’s just a metaphor- it means to be more aware of your thoughts, emotions and the world around you. How often do you leave your house and drive to work and wonder if you remember to unplug the iron or turn of the stove? Even worse, you don’t consciously remember driving to work at all because you were too busy thinking about how your day is going to unfold.
Inducing consciousness means to eliminate mind chatter. What is mind chatter? It’s that ongoing conversation you have with yourself in your head about everything and anything.
I’m so guilty of this! I’m constantly thinking all the time. Sometimes I’m thinking and brainstorming how to solve a problem in the middle of an important conversation. I’m guilty of being fixated on an issue and I do not stop until I solve it.
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Life is too short to be a robot!
I decided that it was important for me to be more conscious because I didn’t want to go through life as a pre-programmed robot going through the same routine day in and day out. I wanted to find some sort of life purpose; I didn’t want life to pass me by. I often joked to my family and friends that I was afraid to wake up one day and be 40 years old and wonder how I got there.
Another by-product of inducing consciousness is that I’m more aware of how my behaviour and surroundings affect other people. This helps me to create meaningful and lasting relationships with others- whether it is on the personal or professional level.
It’s easier to make changes when you are able to pinpoint exactly what you’re doing by being consciously aware of your habits. In other words, it also you more focussed on your goals.
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How to unplug the robot and start living life
You might have read several different ways to induce consciousness. These are the ones I enjoy doing best:
Self-reflections
I think humans have the natural feeling of being afraid of being alone. But I think being alone is important. I try to book a weeknight for myself (or even better part of the weekend) to just being by myself. This is your time. I don’t answer emails or the phone until I’m satisfied with the time I have given myself.
Being alone allows you to self-reflect. Self-reflection is important because it helps you to understand your feelings and emotion. Why do I feel this way? How could I have handled this situation better?
Being alone to start inducing consciousness can be a strange feeling at first. There can be guilt, especially if you have people who need you. If you cannot find the time (i.e. you’re a full time mother or father) it’s time to get creative. Use your commute time to work as your time to self-reflect- even if you’re on a noisy train to work like I am. I wake up an hour earlier to start my day because I know this is the least likely time I will disturb.
Journaling
Similar to self-reflection, journaling allows you to record all your thoughts and goals. Seeing things in writing is supposed to be more effective than just thinking them in your head, hence, why it’s so important to write your goals out.
Steve Pavlina, a self proclaimed self-help guru, swears by journaling because it helps him workout his problems. Again, he believes that putting his problems on paper helps him see the solution.
Journaling also shows you how you grow as a person. When you look back you may laugh at yourself for thinking a certain way or wonder why you were so stressed out over something that eventually went away.
Yoga and Meditation
Another plug for yoga! Yoga has taught me how to be more conscientiously aware of my body. It is helping me to eliminate mind clutter by staying focus on breathing. Like I said earlier, I find eliminating mind clutter very challenging for me. The key is when ever you feel that you are starting to think, tell yourself not to think and bring yourself back to breathing.
Inducing consciousness sounds crazy but it’s something worth trying. After you leave you have a clear mind that’s more focused ready to take on the world.
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