Living on Autopilot? How Hidden Past Memories Shape Your Present Success
The memories we create in life are carried with us in every moment and every step of our personal and professional lives. Some of those memories are not very pleasant or are related to a highly intense emotion. Those can be considered a sort of trauma that imprints negative feelings and thoughts in our subconscious every time similar experiences happen in our daily lives.
Many people live on autopilot and do not realize that they are repeating those negative feelings every time they face a similar situation. It can feel very difficult to stop negative thoughts or feelings in their tracks, which can lead to an escalation of negative emotions that may attract equally negative situations in life.
For example, let’s imagine that as a child you had a bad experience playing with other children, and you felt unwelcome by the group for reasons you couldn’t understand. You were left with a feeling of being rejected and abandoned. Fast forward to your adult career. Imagine that you have weekly meetings where your boss requires everyone to collaborate. Your mind might associate this current situation with the one from your childhood. During the meeting, you might feel rejected and abandoned all over again if your peers don’t pay attention to your ideas. Consequently, your boss might conclude that you are not contributing to the team, which only brings up more feelings of rejection.
Every week when you are called to this meeting—or even just by looking at your calendar and seeing it coming up—you feel bad, stressed, and anxious. You might think the problem is with the group, believing they are mean and do not consider your ideas. Or, you might go to the opposite extreme and think you are the problem, feeling unworthy of their attention and credit. Neither conclusion is the whole truth.
Because we create every situation in our lives—like a spell, with words, feelings, and thoughts fuelled by childhood memories, education, and family idiosyncrasies (a point we will explore in another post)—every time we make choices, apply for a job, or choose what to wear, we might be putting ourselves in situations that repeat those negative patterns.
So, what is the way out? It starts with self-awareness to recognise those patterns. But how can you do that in this fast-paced life? At We Are One, we offer the tools for the first step toward looking at your patterns. When you join a creative activity that has intentional guidance—for example, reflecting upon what stops you from expressing yourself in a group—you have the opportunity to bring any blockages to the light of your conscious mind. You will leave the experience with a clear understanding of a pattern that has been getting in the way of you feeling great at work or in social interactions. You can then take a closer look at this blockage and even ask for help to reset your mind and process the past episode.
If you are still reading this, it might be that you feel you have some of these childhood experiences still lingering deep inside your heart. Knowing that all of us, in one way or another, carry misinterpreted childhood experiences into our adult lives, we also offer reflective experiences like meditations, mindfulness talks, and bodywork experiences to help you process all that baggage.
We invite you to sign up to our blog for more self-discovery and check our upcoming events. We will also soon be launching therapy sessions, ranging from classic techniques to the forefront of holistic healing offerings. We are all humans going through the same experiences; it’s easier if we can do this together.
Candice Westgate - Co-founder
