I'm Becoming My Parents
Published on January 28, 2015
We have all heard this adage in life. We tend to hear it more and the notion becomes more apparent after we get married, have our own children and then begin to hear statements come out of our own mouths that we heard growing up from our parents. I was listening to a commercial on the radio today that was talking about hockey and the voice said, "I've got my dad's love of the game". Aha!! So there it is. There is the absolute proof of why it is difficult to live an authentic life and to have our own voice. Over a lifetime the opinions of others have been surgically implanted into our brain and the separation of theirs and ours then becomes our life's work. The example of habits, mannerisms, quotes, thoughts, beliefs and prejudices are not innate. They are taught and learned. Imprinted and emblazoned into our own sub-conscious. Here is the push. Some are great and others present the nemesis to success, peace and happiness. There lies the starting point of then beginning to separate out the things we want from those we don't. "Out with the bad, in with the good". There is no question that our parents and the world have taught us a great deal that will serve us throughout life. "Say please and thank you, brush your teeth twice a day, tell the truth, do onto others, eat healthy and my all-time favourite, chew with your mouth closed. All these and a legion of others have without question prepared us for life in an adult world and leave us in good standing. There are other voices mixed in however that become just as engrained and can stop us on the road to becoming what we are capable of.
The main point of your job is to make money.
Getting ahead is difficult in life.
You will also likely be overweight your entire life.
Don't trust "those" people.
Life is hard, get used to it.
What makes you think you could ever do that?
or my all-time favorite,
You Can't!!
In order to begin to eliminate what we don't want, we first must understand that the ones you don't want never really belonged to you. They have simply been put there at the dinner table, in the backyard, classroom or tree house while you were growing up. Carry a small notebook with you and when you hear a voice or belief in your head that is not serving you, write it down, read it out loud and then crumple up the paper and throw it away. Truth is, you never wanted it in the first place. The rest of the stuff you can keep if its working in your life. Over time you will one day be in a position to say, "I'm becoming my parents" and smile when you do. You will have just kept the good stuff. Have an excellent day.
Be well,
Randy Taylor
