In the movies, dangerous scenes are performed by highly trained people called “Stunt Doubles.” Thank goodness such people exist. They perform tasks that free others up to let their brand of talent flow. The problem begins when stunt doubles begin to take over the show.

We all have routines that we’ve learned that take on a life of their own. They’re called “Patterns.”

Patterns can be useful, needed routines that oftentimes run outside of our awareness. For example, walking is a pattern that we learn and then consciously forget about. The pattern continues to run without us noticing it, unless, somehow, that pattern gets impaired.

How many people notice how they walk? Relatively few! It’s just a useful routine we rarely think about.

Some routines that we’ve learned are just no longer useful, yet they continue to run, and run our life, pretending to be us.

How much of what you offer for world consumption is patterned? It’s a lot more than we realize.

We let our patterns interact with someone else’s patterns and we believe that’s life. Actually, that’s life one step removed. Our routines are interacting with their routines and we can’t seem to find the intimacy that real life delivers.

When you begin to give patterned reactions and offer up the same stories to all whom you meet, you are reenacting life once removed. When your image interacts with their image, it’s an imaginary relationship.

When your inherited, patterned rules remain inflexible, you let your rules interact with their rules and the two of you never get to really meet. Your advance person meets their advance person and it results in an impasse.

Your stunt double is overworked leaving you under the bus.

An unexamined pattern is a sure way to keep us from fully living our own life. Begin to notice how much you offer up that’s patterned. It’s a step towards sending that overworked routine out to pasture so you can reclaim your life.

Patterns keep anything new from getting through.

Just by noticing that you are turning your life over to you patterned way of doing things is just the interruption that’s necessary for you to step off in a new direction without a stunt double leading the way.

Then you can experience life as it comes, rather than through the filter of a fake you.

It takes some repeated noticing to allow the real you to come through. If you want to go for the “Gusto” in life, rather than settle for the dregs, start doing your own stunts.

All the best,

John