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Stuck in the Middle... of Insanity?

Guest post by: Brad Swift

Article Overview: You've probably heard the modern day definition of insanity, right? It's doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Well, let's look at this more deeply by applying the Life On Purpose Perspective with it. Recently, I've been working with the challenge many people who come to Life On Purpose seem to have -- drifting through life. I sometime think of it as the "Groundhog Day Syndrome" because one day seems pretty much like the repeat of the previous days. I find many of my clients who are adrift in their life are much like a cork drifting around in the water, being buffeted in one direction or another by the "currents of circumstances."

Stuck in the Middle... of Insanity?

You've probably heard the modern day definition of insanity, right? It's doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Well, let's look at this more deeply by applying the Life On Purpose Perspective with it. Recently, I've been working with the challenge many people who come to Life On Purpose seem to have -- drifting through life. I sometime think of it as the "Groundhog Day Syndrome" because one day seems pretty much like the repeat of the previous days. I find many of my clients who are adrift in their life are much like a cork drifting around in the water, being buffeted in one direction or another by the "currents of circumstances." I've realized is that there's a certain level of insanity that keep people stuck in drifting, and it goes beyond the doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. Here's what I see from the Life On Purpose Perspective. -------------- A New Definition of Insanity -------------- What traps us into "doing the same thing over and over expecting different results" are old patterns of thoughts and emotions that stem from what I refer to as the Inherited Purpose. Basically, the Inherited Purpose are thought patterns that become formed in our early formative years during times when we've felt threatened or unsafe, and at an unconscious level we ascribe some meaning about life and ourselves. Over time these thought forms become our beliefs which can become 'just the way I am," or "just the way the world is." Moreover, they are based in fear and lack and lead us to struggle to make it in life which equates to a basic 'survival level' of life. The Inherited Purpose shaping our life in this way isn't a good or bad thing, it's just part of the makeup of us human beings. You see, the Inherited Purpose has a purpose of its own -- it's to keep us safe and secure, and it does a darn good job of fulfilling its purpose. Unfortunately, the side effect is that it keeps us small -- not in touch with our true nature and reason for being alive -- it keeps us unclear about our Divinely Inspired Life Purpose. And one of the primary ways it keeps us safe is by keeping us 'doing the same thing over and over expecting different results.' In other words, it keeps us a little bit insane -- sometimes more than a little bit. --------------- Oh, You Must be Talking about My Gremlins or Ego, Right? --------------- Well, kind of but not really. You see, having the concept that we all have certain gremlins or that we all have an ego to watch out for is somewhat useful...just not nearly as transformative as it could be. Knowing conceptually that we all have an Inherited Purpose is somewhat valuable, but not nearly as useful as being able to specifically identify your own personal Inherited Purpose. For example, my Inherited Purpose: "I must be smart and know all the answers (or pretend that I do), and I must work really hard so I won't be poor and so people won't leave me," operated in the background of my awareness from about the age of 7 (when it first started to be formed) to about 37. It lead me to my own dark night of the soul experience where I was on the verge of taking my own life. That's how powerful an undistinguished Inherited Purpose can be. But when you can 'name' your inherited purpose specifically something interesting begins to occur. You move from being under the power of the Inherited Purpose to have power over the Inherited Purpose, and in that moment you have a choice -- whether to continue to allow your Inherited Purpose to shape your life or choose to have something else shape your life....like your true, Divinely Inspired Life Purpose. ----------------- Uncovering Your Inherited Purpose is Key to a Life On Purpose ----------------- It really is. You can think of the Inherited Purpose as the hard shell of a nut that needs to be cracked open so you can get to the sweet meat of your true, Divinely Inspired Life Purpose. I believe that's why so many people who have gone through the Life On Purpose Process over the years have come back later to share with us that uncovering their Inherited Purpose made one of the biggest differences in their life. It's that big.

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Article Tags: circumstances, currents, definition of insanity, groundhog day, perspective



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