{"id":2479,"date":"2013-02-16T16:32:34","date_gmt":"2013-02-16T21:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/?page_id=446"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:36:44","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T17:36:44","slug":"change-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theexecutivehappinesscoach.com\/2013\/02\/change-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Create New \u201cStories\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think about the person you are today.<\/strong>\u00a0Where did you come from?<\/p>\n

Physically, of course, you\u2019re a genetic mix of your birth parents\u2019 traits; personality-wise, you\u2019re a product of both those geneticsand<\/em>\u00a0the environment in which you were raised.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, we humans are skilled at rapidly assimilating everything that happens around us.\u00a0Un<\/em>fortunately, we humans are skilled at absorbing\u00a0everything<\/em>\u00a0that happens around us \u2013 whether it benefits us or harms us, we absorb and conform to the attitudes and conversations in which we are immersed.<\/p>\n

Historical Discourse<\/h2>\n

Every family, community, ethnicity, and nation has different sorts of conversations.<\/strong>\u00a0Over time, we can begin to identify what we call the Historical Discourse, or the historical pattern of stories that give us identity.<\/p>\n

Each family and society has a different discourse,<\/strong>\u00a0and there\u2019s no right or wrong or good or bad to them. Yet these are important, for our historical discourse affects how we hear things, how we approach issues, the questions we ask, and even how we relate to others.<\/p>\n

What Were the Messages You Learned?<\/h2>\n

In my family there were many messages.<\/strong>\u00a0From my German dad, a child of the Great Depression, I was imprinted with the importance of ceaseless hard work and thrift. From my Irish mom, I learned that St Patrick\u2019s Day is a major holiday and that Responsible People volunteer their time in the community. I learned that boys go to college and girls learn to sew and cook (Hey, I\u2019m not sayin\u2019 I bought it all! I\u2019m just sayin\u2019 what I learned thru absorption in my family). I also learned that money is scarce, rich people are selfish, procrastination is an art form to be perfected, and that Real Men don\u2019t express their feelings.<\/p>\n

Some of these messages I saw for the propaganda they were,<\/strong>\u00a0and I consciously rejected them, e.g. I learned to cook, and I raised children who believe in gender equality. Some discourses remain strong in me today \u2013 procrastination, for exampleL. And some of those discourses nearly killed me, literally, before I realized that I had other choices. The inability to express my feelings meant I kept them shut inside me till years of killer migraines forced me into considering that maybe \u2013 just maybe \u2013 there was a different way to live.<\/p>\n

Consider what messages were planted in your absorbent mind as you grew up, concerning:<\/strong><\/p>\n