Once there was a wise, enlightened woman. She had mastered her life. Still, she knew she did not have full control. She was addicted to chocolate. Whenever she saw chocolate, she had to eat it. She enjoyed it but chocolate controlled her. She wanted to change this. She wanted to be decide herself when to eat it. No longer did she want to unconsciously consume every piece of chocolate she found.
The master bought a beautiful bowl and eight pieces of delicious chocolate. She put the bowl with the chocolate in it on her table. And she told herself: ‘In the next 21 days I can look at the chocolate, I can imagine its wonderful taste but I cannot eat it.’ And so it happened. She enjoyed the view but ate no chocolate. She kept conscious of her goal. After 21 days she was free from her chocolate addiction. She had mastered chocolate.
We all want to change certain habits. Often though we don’t succeed. The master and her chocolate teach us how we can.
The MASTER-FORMULA-OF-THREE for CHANGE
1. Know what you want
All change starts with knowing what you want to change. The master is clear: she wants to get rid of her chocolate addiction. You decide what you want to change. I repeat: YOU decide. Often times we want to change what others wish or expect from us. Your partner or your parents for example. Wanting to change what others want is no basis for success. YOU must want it. Otherwise it is too easy to quit if things don’t work out. Think about it: if you really want it, who can stop you? Only you yourself!
2. Take action
The most successful people have discipline. Discipline to take action will help you achieve your goals. The master doesn’t eat chocolate for 21 days. She takes responsibility and achieves her goal. You can also do this. Start small. Set a target just for today. Live up to that target. And then again tomorrow. Live by the day and show yourself every day that you can. Practising discipline grows discipline! Your confidence in your ability to do it, grows. It gets easier to do what you set out to do.
It takes approximately 21 days to change a habit. That isn’t too much, right?
3. Awareness
Knowing what you want? Ok. Discipline to take action? Ok. But… changing habits still is often not a success. We give up. We get distracted. Step 3 is awareness. This is the most important step. Awareness results from training your mind. With a trained mind you remain actively aware of what you want (step 1) and actively focused on taking action (step 2). You do not allow distraction. You lead life. Life is not leading you.
Use the MASTER-FORMULA-OF-THREE and change your habits:
1) Be clear what YOU want to change
2) Take action every day
3) Train your mind to be aware of what you want and do
And FOUR…
If you add conscious enjoyment of what you do, you increase your chance of success further. The wise woman first enjoyed the chocolate on her table and living up to her resolve not to eat it for 21 days. Then she enjoyed taking her own decision when to eat it and of course the chocolate’s delicious taste. When you enjoy consciously, achieving your goals becomes easier.
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