The Grasshopper must sense Spring is in the wings because he was full of new insights yesterday, including this one:

“You are a product of your environment . . . until you notice.”

What specifically should we notice? The fact that most of our attitudes and beliefs are not ours to begin with, and that we are on automatic pilot.

We are stimulus-reaction machines until we notice that most of our reactions are inherited. We’ve been conditioned without our permission and think our reactions are our ideas. For the most part, they’re not.

Reminds me of a story . . . I know a man whose grandfather died many years before he was born. One of his parents often told an unflattering story about his grandfather. The story about the grandfather is one this fellow tells to this day. Here’s the point: it’s not his story. It’s one he inherited but prejudiciously tells it as though it’s his.

That’s being a product of your environment. We all are . . . until we notice.

Many of the things that are passed on to us are quite beneficial, others not so much. The question we want to ask ourselves more often is: “Is this attitude or belief working for me?”

If your answer is “No,” it’s time to take notice. First, notice that your idea is not really yours and then get curious about what other belief or attitude would work. Then work towards taking ownership of it. Then it will be your idea, your belief, your home-grown attitude.

We will consistently and robotically generate behaviors and display our world view in accordance with our beliefs, most of which aren’t really ours. The key to being your own person with your own ideas is to start noticing what’s not yours and what’s not working.

It’s easier to outgrow a belief that’s not working when we notice it’s not ours.

All the best,

John