Everyone of us lives by rules, spoken or unspoken, consciously or unconsciously. Some of the rules by which we live are rules that became ingrained in us as a child.
I always loved the story of the family who, when preparing the ham, would cut off the ends each time. When the child asked why his mother cut of the ends, her reply was that we always have done that. The child’s grandmother overheard the questions and chimed in, “We cut off the ends of the ham because it would not fit in the pan I used to cook the ham”. In other words, we do it because we have always done it even after it no longer serves a purpose.
How many things do we do because we have always done it that way or never questioned why?
Some behaviors are somewhat benign, like cutting off the ham, but others can be more detrimental. Maybe we are anxious because our mother was always anxious. We have learned to think about events from a place of fear because that is what you observed growing up. Becoming aware of the habits and beliefs that we enact each day can be the foundation for change. When we live our habits without questioning, it is hard to examine whether or not that belief is empowering or disabling you in some way. One more step to a happier life.
I never thought of it that way.