The reason we burn out is because we want things to happen overnight. We feel like we should be ahead of the game; we should be somewhere further and more successful in life than we are. Every time we tell ourselves that we “should” be somewhere, we are less empowered.
The reality is that nothing happens overnight. If you understand that success is a process, and every success involves many failures along the way, then you understand why the choices you make today creates your reality. You have no power over what happened in the past, so why spend all of your time worrying about yesterday, or even worrying about tomorrow? Instead, you need to focus on the choices you are making right now. The choices you make right now are going to affect your future.
You are either making a conscious choice or an unconscious choice. An unconscious choice is created by fear and scarcity. By the belief that you’re not enough. Every time you act from the survival consciousness, you only attract the things you don't want in life. That’s the fear mentality: you’re holding on to the little bit that you have, but you can’t grow and expand. Unconscious choices create a victim mentality: You’re always looking for someone else to blame for your circumstances.
The conscious choice creates growth and abundance. When you operate from the expansion consciousness, you know you have everything you need within your reach. The expansion mentality is believing that you have everything inside you already to grow. The survival consciousness wants to keep you stuck, and wants you to be a victim. That’s the difference between conscious choices and unconscious choices.
Conscious choices create a leadership mentality because everything is the leader’s responsibility. The empire rises or falls at the hands of the leader. That’s the biggest difference between conscious and unconscious choices. Unconscious choices breed the victim mentality, conscious choices allow you to become a leader. But that doesn’t mean that every choice you make will be the right choice; but every conscious choice you make will help you expand your capacity to grow.
As a leader, your job is to expand your capacity. To lead the people you are responsible for in order to expand your business. Every unconscious choice you make keeps you in survival mode and stuck in the victim mentality. Every conscious choice encourages your growth.
4 Patterns to Recognize to Make Conscious Choices.
1- The thoughts you are focused on the most are going to create the choices in your life.
Are you focusing on thoughts that empower you or drain you? If your thoughts are draining you, you’re spending all your time worrying about your life. What if you focus on the power that you have to make the choice? What if everything you’re going through right now is supposed to happen? What if the pain you’re going through now has a purpose? What if right now you use that pain to help you grow and expand?
The moment you make the conscious choice based on the things you are constantly thinking about, then you can choose to focus on expansion and growth.
2- Daily Habits
Now that you have the right mindset, now you are going to create habits. Your habits shape your character. Your habits dictate where you’re going in life. What you do on a daily basis will compound over time - good habits or bad. Most people are looking for motivation. Motivation is temporary. Discipline will last a lifetime.
Are you consistent or inconsistent? Consistency creates discipline. Every time you do something over and over again, you become more disciplined. People follow people who are consistent. Leaders are consistent, disciplined, and do not make excuses. Leaders say they will do something, and do it over and over again until they accomplish it.
It’s a conscious choice to create healthy habits. Habits are going to take you to what you want in life. Habits are what’s going to allow you to fulfill your purpose. The problem is that the unconscious mind creates habits that no longer serve you. The lie we all tell ourselves is that we’ll change tomorrow. Instead, focus on what you can do today to get you closer to what you want in life. What can you do today to break bad habits and double down on good habits? What can you think about to accomplish what you want? Your current reality is a reflection of your thoughts. You have to make the conscious choice to have good habits, otherwise, your bad habits will compound over time and it will be harder as time goes by to break those habits.
3- Community
You need a community that will empower your thoughts. Are you around people who are helping you grow? Or are you around people who are hindering your growth? Who are you around? Being comfortable is the most dangerous place for a man to be. You can be comfortable with your friends and you don't want to change. Every time that you get around people who are comfortable, it’s inevitable that you will get comfortable, and you won’t want to grow. When you put your guard down, you will get punched in the face. That’s why you need to be around people who will push you. You need to grow and expand consistently. If you’re not around people who will help you see what’s possible, you will make excuses for not performing at your best.
You are the product of your association. Your community is either helping you grow or blocking your blessings. It doesn’t matter how much discipline you have, or how much positive thinking you do… your community will determine where you go in the long term. Your community will help you see what you can’t see. When you put yourself in an environment of growth, it’s inevitable that you will expand. If you want to grow, get around people who are growing.
You have to protect your community. You have to protect your space. You can’t just let anyone into your space. You can’t take everyone’s opinion equally. Most men are taking everyone’s opinion as fact. You don’t know who you are so you try to get validation from people around you. Don't believe everything people say about you. Get around people who know who they are. Don’t let someone else’s opinion on you become fact.
4- Content/information that you consume.
Every day, you’re programming yourself. You have to choose the program. You’re either choosing to be programmed by fear or choose to be programmed by faith. If you are not growing from the information you’re consuming, you are being programmed to make unconscious choices.
An unconscious man is easily manipulated. It’s crucial to think about what you're consuming. What books are you reading, podcasts you’re listening to, videos and TV you’re watching.
You are the product of your thoughts. But you are not your thoughts, you are the power that you give your thoughts. We all have bad thoughts, but you have the opportunity to choose which thoughts you give power to. From that place, you can create habits. You have the power to make conscious choices based on the habits you want to create. The community you’re part of will allow you to expand and grow. It all comes down to the information you are consuming. Whatever you believe, eventually you’ll become.
For more insights and to connect with Raul Villacis, check out his Youtube channel and other social media platforms.
"Learn it, live it, love life." - Raul Villacis
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