- Credits:
- for photograph, Craig Orsini
Helen’s Place LLC Update: July 10, 2022
When you’re repeating the same old pattern again and again, it get old – not only for you, but for your family and friends who say, “Oh no, not again!”
People frequently repeat an old pattern that doesn’t pay off, not because it’s a smart idea but because it’s familiar behavior.
Doing something different requires an analysis of what one did before, and a decision to try something else. Many people stay in a personal story like Groundhog Day, but unlike the movie never break out of it.
It’s human to wish that doing the same thing over and over will yield the result that we want because of the effort we’ve put into it.
The more times we do the same thing, the more invested we are in doing it again!
Unfortunately, this idea of “practice makes perfect,” may apply to learning to play a musical instrument, but doesn’t work at all for other things.
Instead, the human behavior of repeating patterns, is more like the familiar saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result,” often attributed to Albert Einstein, even though according to scholars he didn’t say it.
Is the point that some people are insane – living their lives in Ground Hog Day moments?
Probably yes. Take the example of job seekers who use the same resume over and over to apply for different jobs, and then when they don’t get job interviews, thinks the problem is they didn’t describe how great they were well enough;
So they keep revising their resume over and over, rather than spending time tailoring it to highlight how their experience matches the job description.
People who are stuck like this might need to seek out a professional counselor or job coach to assist them.
For those without a budget for counseling, the next best thing is to find a trustworthy person who has your best interest at heart, and is willing to hang in there with you until you break the pattern.
Choose an objective person willing to tell you the truth.
The following Simple steps may also be useful:
- Be honest about what actions you’re repeating that aren’t working.
- Take responsibility for your mistakes.
- Ask yourself the question, “If there was one small change I’d be willing to make, what is it?”
- Take your answer, decide a course of action to make one small change that’s slightly different from the norm. Decide how long you’ll try it before trying something else, and then keep tweaking it.
- During the time you’re struggling to change, reinforce your ability to be flexible and adapt to change by reading books and listening to podcasts that provide helpful information and encouragement. A little book worth reading is, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson.
But there is one more element that is trickier to deal with – that is that sometimes the time isn’t right to make a change and so you have to wait for the right moment, which takes patience.
Timing and knowing when to act is unique for every person.
In any case, doing things differently when something in your life isn’t working, is an easier habit to manifest the more you practice it, and the clearer you get about what you want in your life, the faster things will fall into place for you.
Related audio/video interview recording:
Discussion about how why people repeat patterns from a spiritual perspective:
YouTube, Abraham Hicks, June 21, 2018, “When You Keep Repeating Patterns You Don’t Want”
Other resources you may be interested in:
Practical suggestions for living a constructive life:
Helen’s Place LLC, “Constructive Action Rules”
Your comments are greatly appreciated. Send them to Helen’s Place LLC via email to info@helensplacenet.com.
