Are you a dictator? Are you your own dictator?

What reaction does the term dictator have for you?

Do you get a physical sensation when you think of the word?  What does the term mean to you?

Is it someone who tells you what to believe?  What you can or can't do?

Would the restriction need to be some thing fairly far fetched for you to notice?

What would you think if the leader of your country ordered you to believe that the world was actually flat? Or that from today onwards thursday was now going to be monday, and all the days in the week would now be re-named?

What would you do?

In a real dictatorship you could become part of a protest organisation, you could nod and think inside your head 'what nonsense' and pay lip service to the change and carry on with your own beliefs, or you could choose to accept that the leader is right and shift from your previous beliefs.

There are parts of the world where leaders have certainly tried hard to openly control peoples beliefs and behaviours - worst examples include any ideological radical perspective such as the Chinese Cultural revolution, Afghanistan under the Mujahideen and the Taliban, Burma, South Africa under appartite, America in the McCarthy era, Germany under Hitler - so many examples - but -  did everyone knuckle under and swallow the pill?  Certainly not.  Perhaps it is easier to see what is good/bad, useful/unuseful, beneficial/distructive when the belief system is radically in opposition to ones own beliefs.

Yet, every moment of the day everyone of us chooses to take note and focus on some things and exclude a whole range of other possibilities that might be more beneficial to us.  In our life time we have taken on views and beliefs and ways of being and accepted them or not.  Some people will have felt uncomfortable with what they were being expected to believe or do, and will have opted to take their leave from the cultural group imposing those beliefs - whether those groups were families or work organisations.  Others will bow down and accept it.  

Every time you tell yourself what is not possible - you are cutting out chance of making a difference - you are being your own dictator.

Every day I have clients come to me, many of whom need assistance to realise that they are their own dictator.  It is only they who as adults have chosen to think, feel, act and react as they do.  So many people are so deeply engaged with the thoughts rolling around inside their heads that they can drive great distances and not notice, (I have done that particularly when in a deep dark place).  Many people live so much in their own heads that they are unaware that the birds are singing, or that a beautiful rainbow is right in front of them, or that someone is talking to them, that they ate their dinner and didn't notice, cooked a meal and only really became aware when they cut a finger. etc

Learning to be aware of what our thoughts and feelings are, as soon as we have them, enables us to engage more actively in our own lives and with our partners, our children, our colleagues, our work and our health much more effectively, to see opportunities and possibilities sooner, to try different options and to make a difference in their circumstances, or the circumstances of others.

When we become aware of how we think and feel, and then choose how we want to think and feel, and what will be the best, most useful action for us to take  - we can then choose and direct our own lives.  We can become our own beneficial dictator, with great benefit to ourselves and everyone around us.
You will most certainly find that your energy increases, that you feel more awake and alive than you have for a very long time.

Changing habits, any habits always requires support from new sources, from people who can guide you, or people who have already trodden a new path for themselves.  If you would like to book a FREE telephone consultation to explore how you can make changes in your life  Click here!

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