The Thief of Fulfillment

Why does this happen?

It's all to do with the way the subconscious perceives survival. It knows that you are in a safe position and that survival is more or less guaranteed if you carry on in the same way. As soon as you start to consider making changes to your life, your subconscious mind will play the fear card. You are leaving the comfort zone and boy-oh-boy, does it not like it! Not one little bit!

This is no joke. It happens to millions of people and this fear ruins their dreams for a better life. And here's the danger of giving in to this fear: You can feel as though you're stuck in a rut ? kind of like life is passing you by. As the years pass, these feelings can become magnified and you can become filled with regret over opportunities you didn't grasp.

I don't know about you but the last feeling I want before I breathe my last is that I didn't take advantage of opportunities because I gave in to my fears. Because let's be honest here, we can generate excuse after excuse to save face and gain sympathetic understanding from our families and loved ones. But we can't fool ourselves. Deep down inside, we know the truth.

If you want to achieve a dream, you are going to have to understand and overcome fear. There's a lot to it, much more than I can cover in one article. But for now, I want to look at an ally of fear, an ally that you can easily defeat.

When we're in the comfort zone, one thing re-enforces it more than any other. Routine. Performing the same habits and behaviors on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. The more routines you have in your life, the harder it is to embrace life-enhancing changes. Any break from routines is met with strong resistance by your mind.

This is security. And the more secure you feel, the more the mind believes we are safe, that survival is assured. Introducing change triggers the fear response because your subconscious mind perceives a threat to your survival.

A great technique to combat this is to demonstrate that your conscious mind is in control. You do this by adopting the axiom that change is essential to growth. The more you embrace change, the more color you add to your life. The more you grow, the more happiness, satisfaction and fulfilment you feel.

Here's a couple of great ideas to further help keep the fear of change at bay by limiting the routines you perform in life. Use them to stimulate your own ideas:

* Start and finish work at different times each day ? if work allows. Can also vary the times you have lunch ? and where you eat lunch. Can you vary the routes you take to and from the workplace?

* Eat a different breakfast each day. Most people eat the same breakfast everyday. Can you vary it? And try not to get in the routine of eating the same meal on a particular day. E.g. Tuesday is pot roast, Friday is fish, Saturday is steak.

* Shop at different supermarkets. Many people shop at the same stores on the same day every week. Try different ones, different days.

* Try a different cuisine every week. I love cooking and I like to try as many different dishes as I can. One idea I use is to pick a country and try a couple of recipes from there. You could also use states and regions. It's a great way of varying the diet and learning about other cultures.

* Visit somewhere new at least once a month. This could be a new town or country, a new restaurant, a new museum, theatre, park wherever you can think of!

* Avoid the temptation to watch television every night. Read a book, surf the Internet, attend a night-school class, workout, go to the movies ? the idea here is not to just slump in front of the TV every night.

OK, I know these are basic ideas but they are effective in helping to break mundane routines. Routine really can make life a bit of a dull plod, so please do try and use these ideas to help you break free from them. And please don't rush into making major changes as it can be overwhelming. Take it nice and slow by making small adjustments to make life less of a routine and to slowly get the mind to accept changes when they come.

It's so important to demonstrate to the subconscious that YOU are in control and that you will not let fear of change control you. If you let it, your imagination will set boundaries on the amount of happiness you can get from life. The biggest weapon it will use to stop you from embracing life-enhancing change is FEAR.

Why let it get away with it?

Chris Green is the author of the new book "Conquering Fear", a special program which will show you how to conquer fear and attract greater happiness, success and prosperity into your life. You can learn more about this new book and purchase it at http://www.conqueringfear.net

Love Thy Neighbor

I would like to take a moment to write about... Read More

The Road Not Taken

Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 24,... Read More

Forcing Inspiration

Most people, when they have to complete a creative endeavour,... Read More

Psychic Sponge Syndrome: The Easy Inner-Centrifuge Remedy

Here's a nifty trick to use to clear yourself of... Read More

Charity ? Give To Receive!

We all know the truism that "charity begins at home."... Read More

The Minds Fancy Dress Party -Or- A Brainstorming Session

In Berlin a restaurant opens for anorexics and in Buffalo... Read More

Building Bridges, Not Walls!

Only twenty years ago, people would casually stroll the neibourhood,... Read More

Rightful Owner

Direct Answers - Column for the week of January 20,... Read More

Naomi and the 5 Life Lessons

Not long ago, I attended a seminar that featured Naomi... Read More

Here is The Inspirational Wisdom From The Masters

Have you always wanted to do invent something, create something,... Read More

Succeed by Whistling While You Work

Mark Twain (1835-1910) believed that having fun is important if... Read More

Magical Wreaths

Wreaths are like rings. They represent the Universal Circle ("Let... Read More

Each Moment Is To Be Treasured

Let us grasp and treasure each precious moment of our... Read More

Stay Inspired

Two years ago I was in a wheelchair and told... Read More

Change is the Only Constant

The physics professor with the unruly shock of white hair... Read More

What Life is All About?

When we look at lives in any places in this... Read More

How You Can Change Your Destiny

The outer conditions of a person's life will always be... Read More

Long Odds

Direct Answers - Column for the week of March 31,... Read More

Play It Forward --Living A Life Youve Always Wanted!

What would your life be like if you lived each... Read More

Anchors Away!

If we want to fill our heads with the doom... Read More

Experiences in My Life Prompted Me to Never Give Up

Many people think that their life is a disaster that... Read More

Eradicating The Heart of Poverty

Poverty can sometimes only be a state of mind, based... Read More

Is Transformation Worth the Effort?

Soaring 700 feet above the forest floor is a granite... Read More

Turning Your Life Over To God and Trusting Him To Lead You Is Like . . . . .

. . . . . riding a roller coaster for... Read More

Imprisoned In Liberty?

Robert was so strong that I once saw him pick... Read More