Letting Go Of Some Of Your B.S.

“You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.” – C. JoyBell C.

Playing video games as a pre-teen and later a teenager was one of my favorite things to do. And I played them all. I shoved enough quarters to create what would now be a healthy retirement account into full-size, stand-up games in the arcade, and logged countless hours over the years on the classics on the Atari 2600, Intellivision, Nintendo, and Sega game consoles. And, of course, I played the adventure games that gave our family PC (an AWESOME 8086) it’s primary purpose and something for my siblings and me to fight over (as if we needed it).What always amused me even then was how much stuff I, as the lead character in any game, could not only collect but also carry with me on my adventures. Knights or soldiers could carry countless weapons, regardless of size or weight, and have them at the ready at a moments notice. Spacecraft and fighter planes never ran out of ammo and weapons could change in mid-flight without pause. Cars never ran out of fuel (nor did they ever get the paint scratched).

If only real life had such ease.

While games have evolved dramatically over the years, there is something that we, as actual humans, still sometimes forget: In order to pick up something new and take it with us, we might need to drop something else and leave it behind – even when we don’t want to.

It’s not easy to let things go, particularly if they have been in our lives for a long time. But quite often, it’s necessary if we’re serious about our mission and achieving our goals. Sometimes it’s a material thing. Sometimes it’s a relationship. And sometimes, it’s a way of thinking.Your belief system (B.S.) was established by the time you were seven years old. That system to this day gives birth to every thought you have. You experience those thoughts through your feelings. Those feelings drive your actions. And your actions create results. So when you have undesirable results, you can trace them back through the actions, to the feelings, thoughts, and belief system that ultimately created them.

There is a reason why we use the abbreviation B.S. ... because it might just be that. When we tell something to ourselves over and over again, it begins to be true. Because whatever you think, you're right.

But, good news: this B.S. is completely hackable. It can be edited and recoded. When you know the results you want, you can go through the same process by considering the actions that are likely to produce those results. Then think of the feelings that drive those actions. Ponder the thoughts that are experienced by those feelings. And construct a belief system that would give birth to those thoughts.

Quite often, that system will be dramatically different that the one you currently use. And picking up a new system isn’t as easy as walking a video game character across a screen to grab it.

What you thought and did to get you this far won’t necessarily get you to where you want to go. So it’s important to take an objective look at your “inventory” and ask yourself what you REALLY need to take with you in order to achieve your goals. And also, what needs to be left behind.This world, like video games, evolves quickly. And if we don’t evolve with it, we’ll end up collecting dust in a box in a closet with the rest of the old cartridge-based game consoles or, if we’re lucky, placed on Ebay for someone who wants to purchase something nostalgic.

Consider making a commitment to exploring the things that have served you to this point and see if you might have some ideas on what might serve you better moving forward. Share your ideas/suggestions on Facebook! And for inspirational messages (or random goofy stuff) follow me on Twitter, and get more “behind the scenes” stuff on Instagram!

Go from status quo to Status Flow.