Change begins when we can no longer live the old way.

There comes a point in life when we realize that we can no longer live the same way we have been living. Not because someone else said so, but because we feel deep down that this is no longer the case. That's when the desire for change arises. Sometimes this desire is silent, and sometimes it comes after pain, disappointment, or fatigue from the same stories being repeated over and over again.

The truth is simple – change happens when the suffering becomes too much or when the desire for change becomes strong enough.

People are slaves to habits.

How many times have we heard the phrase: humans are slaves to habit? Probably many times. But have you ever really thought about it? Every day, the same thoughts lead us to the same choices, those same choices lead to the same actions and behaviors. That leads us to the same experiences, which create the same emotions, and those emotions in turn influence our thoughts. And so we go around in circles.

Even when we realize that we are going in circles, we often stay in that circle because we are comfortable with it. It is quite logical that if we repeat the same thing for months or years, strong patterns develop in our brains that eventually become part of our identity and personality. It is not easy after years of routine to break free from patterns of unconscious emotional reactions, ingrained attitudes, beliefs and perceptions. The brain is like a computer program that runs automatically.

Life on autopilot

Most of us have very similar patterns every day. When we wake up, we don't think much, but we start acting out of habit. We start thinking about problems at work or about certain people and situations. While we think like this, we are actually living in the past because we are connecting with already known feelings. These feelings trigger the same thoughts in us, so we start to believe that this is our destiny and that this will be our future . It is a trap that is very easy to fall into.

If feelings and emotions are the result of past events, the stronger the emotion, the easier it is for the brain to store it. The best example is when you ask someone why they react the way they do in a certain situation, and they answer: because of a bad experience in the past. What they are actually telling you is that this event controls their feelings and thoughts, which means they have become a victim of their unconscious programming that they live by. The person relives the same emotions, and the brain and body are neurologically and chemically influenced by old experiences. We go around in circles again and wonder why the same things always happen to us, why we encounter the same problems, bad bosses or bad partners. We cannot create a new future if the body is constantly reliving the past.

When we want to change something in our way of thinking, our conscious mind only plays a small part, while the unconscious mind is full of old patterns and has been programmed for a long time. That is why change is almost impossible to achieve without conscious effort and persistence. The body and unconscious mind do not distinguish between an emotion caused by a real event and an emotion that we have created with our thoughts.

What do most of us do when we notice the same thoughts and feelings? We start to strive for a predictable future, or relive a familiar past. This is how we stay connected to everything that is familiar to us. We wake up in the morning, pick up our phone, turn off the alarm, check our messages, social media, and emails. We look at everything that is already familiar to us, and thus we immediately enter the old reality and old patterns. It is a habit.

A habit is a repetitive mechanism – a set of automatic, unconscious thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that are repeated over and over again. A habit is when we repeat something so many times that our body knows how to do it better than the conscious part of the brain. If a person lives in the same routine for years, the body is on autopilot and, together with the brain, enters a predictable future. This slowly loses our free will to change.

Think about driving a car. At first, it was hard to think about the brakes, the gearshift, the mirrors and the traffic all at the same time. After a while, you drive automatically, listen to the radio, think about something and do everything at the same time. It's a habit. We live life the same way – on autopilot.

Change starts with new elections

Now that we have realized how powerful our patterns are and that change starts from within ourselves, it is time to move towards change. This means not making the same choices as yesterday. You can wake up tomorrow morning and say: today I will do something different for myself. Today there is no guilt, self-pity, complaining and suffering.

At that moment, you will disrupt the chemical balance in your body, and that will not be a pleasant feeling. The body wants a familiar state and will try to return you to the old way of thinking. An internal dialogue will begin: start tomorrow, change is impossible, it is someone else's fault, you don't have time. Unfortunately, many then believe these thoughts and give up.

People often find excuses and retreat into mediocrity. They surround themselves with people who do the same and thus reaffirm the situation they are in, remaining in the role of victim.

The journey from the old to the new self is actually the death of the old way of thinking. It is a neurological, chemical, biological and emotional change. And exactly in that place, in that emptiness and uncertainty, there is a perfect place to create something new. The best way to predict the future is to create the future.

The brain does not distinguish between reality and imagination

Neuroscience research shows that when you close your eyes and mentally imagine a situation, your brain often doesn't distinguish between what's happening in your mind and what's happening in reality. This is how you start to create new neurological connections and feel like you've already accomplished something. Your brain is no longer just a snapshot of the past, but a map for the future.

Don't wait for life to happen.

Can you teach your body through emotion how it will feel even before everything you want happens? You can't wait for new love to feel love. You can't wait for abundance to feel abundance. You can't wait for success to feel self- worth . You can't wait for healing to be grateful.

Be that now.

Don't spend your life waiting forever. All the resources for change are already within you. There is no creation in waiting. Your change begins the moment you begin to feel valuable, grateful, and fulfilled. The moment you love yourself and your life, a new version of you begins to be born. That's when new experiences, new opportunities, and new possibilities come.

Change is actually breaking the habits of the old self and creating a new self. It is the creation of new neural connections and new ways of thinking and acting.

Write your future

That's why one of the best exercises is writing. Write down on paper what you want and where you want to be. Write down your goals and the steps to get to those goals. Write down everything you're grateful for. When you write, you start to feel like it's already happening. That's when opportunities, coincidences, and synchronicities start to appear.

The energy of gratitude is one of the strongest foundations for change.

Perhaps the side effects will be the following: you will be less focused on shortcomings, you will be more present, more fulfilled, and you will love life more.

And then change is no longer something you try to do – change becomes what it is.

Change doesn't start when everything is ready. Change starts when you decide you don't want to live the old way anymore.