In the Driver’s Seat for Change

Did you know that, in at least one way, you are at your best when your system is out of order? That seems a bit crazy, considering how life has changed in the last few months. Compared to what we’ve experienced as “normal,” today is very different – and we’ve been thrown out of order, whether we like it or not.

Now by “Out of Order,” we mean when our mental picture of how things “should be” is very different from how things actually are. Human beings are always striving for order, and when our mental picture of how things should be matches reality, we feel comfortable and in control. We can go through our days and nights without worry or concern.

However, what happens when they don’t match? What happens when our mental picture of, say, where we go to work has been thrown out of order by a layoff, because our business isn’t considered “essential” right now? Or our picture of being able to go anywhere we want, when we want to, with whoever we want to, is curbed by “stay at home” orders, made for the good of the general populace’s health and well-being?

Well, what happens is that we create inside ourselves a tremendous amount of drive and energy to restore order, to make our inner picture and “outer” reality match once again. We feel highly motivated to get that car repaired, to get a new job, to do whatever is necessary to set things right. And until we do set things “right,” we are frustrated and continue to be out of order.

So what do we do, in the meantime, when we can’t force the old normal back into place? One of the advantages, or disadvantages (depending how one looks at it), is that if the outside picture can’t change, then we change the inside picture. Our mind will do this to ensure sanity and its own survival. What we want to do is take the reins of this process, and give ourselves a new inner picture – for the time being – that better matches the current outside world. Our inner energy, drive and creativity come to our aid.

Once this new order is restored, the drive and energy turn off because they are no longer needed. Our frustration factor is lessened, and sanity is restored. In the near future, once our outer reality changes back to something closer to the old reality, we can change our inner picture once again. Drive, energy and creativity all return to help in the reset, and we are in the driver’s seat.