Human wisdom that supports human thriving has evolved over centuries and is being codified by spiritual, transformational and success movements. The three factors that emerge unscathed from years of examination are the three Golden Keys that I summarize here:
Positive change starts with the Golden Keys. The Mind Muscles model for creating new behaviors that serve us better is the Golden Keys. For too long, most of us have tried to make changes through discipline, willpower, and control to motivate ourselves to adopt better habits or behaviors. Like many New Year’s resolutions, our good intentions don’t produce the results we want. We just keep repeating the same unwanted behaviors over and over again, with the same results.
Why do you do what you do? Have you ever looked at a previous day’s behaviors and wondered why you did something? Does it almost seem like someone else might have taken over your body? Do you swear you will never repeat that mistake ever again—then a week later, experience pain from repeating that same behavior? The Golden Keys are all about creating new behaviors that serve us better.
The Golden Keys are as follows:
- Awareness in real time
- Acceptance of what we discover
- Agency “What do I want now?”
Awareness is the first Golden Key for a reason. Once we have an awareness of how we create our current behaviors that produce our current results, then we have the ability to change the method we employ so we can create what we really want.
The next key is Acceptance. If there is one word that describes our work at the Mind Muscles Academy, it is rapport. If we are constantly fighting ourselves and our world, we do not have the ability to dance with our environment. After we become aware of our current processes, next we accept what we discover without judgment.
Become an expert on yourself! You can be like an anthropologist studying yourself with curiosity and wonder. You can love every part of yourself. This is a big step for many of us, and an important one as well.
Asking “What do I want now?” Built on the foundation of awareness and acceptance, we have a new foundation to uncover what we want instead. With the acceptance of what we discover, we no longer need to fight ourselves. Asking what we want now is not from the place of struggle, but from the place of discovery and adventure.
