Patterns Are Predictable - Grasshopper

I attended a family, wedding anniversary over the weekend and volunteered to take photographs of the event. It was a really fun time. Later, when I looked at the candid, non-posed crowd shots, I saw the familiar patterns of all the people I knew.

It's amazing how photographs capture our patterns, and it's eye opening to witness the same ones displayed over and over again.

 

When law enforcement is on a manhunt, they want to know the patterns of the suspect. They want to know where he goes, what he does, who he consorts with, etc. They can narrow their search with this information and increase their chances of predicting where he or she will be.

 

We're all familiar with the TV head detective who wants to know what the suspect eats for lunch and if he had a Lego® set as a kid. They want all the information they can garner, so they can determine the patterns he/she uses most often. They almost always get their man (or woman) because patterns predict behavior.

 

Ice Hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky reportedly said, "I skate where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." Besides being a whiz on the ice, he monitored the patterns of his opponents and could predict where to skate.

 

What's totally predictable about you? It may be something useful or it may be something that keeps you getting in your own way. Perhaps a little detective work will shed some light on your search.

 

Look at any behavior that you've conditioned over the years and notice there are patterns behind it. The behavior won't change until the patterns do, so it makes a boatload of sense to get to know your patterns. They take you to the same place every time.

 

Want to outgrow your behaviors? Investigate the building blocks of behavior known as habit patterns. We are so predictable that we rarely do anything new. We just remake the same old movie with our patterns.

 

I like predictability. That's a pattern. Either it's working for me or it's not.

 

If your life isn't working, stop looking outside yourself for a scapegoat. Take ownership of your behavior and you'll start to see the pieces that make it up, so you can break it up.

 

Some will read this and consider investigating their own behavior but do nothing with that information. They will stay predictably stuck.

Those that make it a practice of acting on the patterns behind their behaviors are a lot less predictable and more likely to make lasting changes.

 

All the best,

John