Personal myths are deep seeded, unconscious beliefs and programming that show up in our daily lives. They are the thoughts and feelings that we tell ourselves, the harsh words of the inner critic and those of others that we buy into and believe.
Our myths are formed throughout our lifetime, reinforced through behaviours and set as fact in our programming. They limit us and trap us to remain in our safe haven of “what we know to be true”. They limit our true potential of who we could become, who we are destined to become in this lifetime.
The safe haven of what we know to be true
What we know to be true will always be true. This is the wonderful creation of our understanding, our perception and beliefs in the world around us based on repetitive behaviours and facts. When something is reinforced and repeatable, then we accept it as truth whether it’s something we enjoy or not, or whether it is healthy for us or not.
When our safe haven of understanding is disrupted, or something changes then it makes us uncomfortable, and to ease that comfort we will generally revert back to our old beliefs and programming.
Why? Because its easy, its repeatable, its been proven, and its not that uncomfortable. Is it?
We tend to be resilient beings, ones who get knocked down and get back up, beings who can keep putting off their own happiness and joy, beings who think its fine to continually suffer and keep themselves trapped. We handle uncomfortable and suffering quite well, but it’s not necessary.
It’s time to stop thinking that something will change and get better someday…
Change will only occur if you CHOOSE to.
That is all. Nothing will just make itself better without your permission and participation.
Luckily, we are not stuck with the myths we create in our lives. It is possible to rewrite your own myths, it takes some practice, some time but it is doable. Something that I have learnt through experience is that having a supportive friend, coach or team behind you, helps the new myths to weave themselves into your life quicker.
A personal story
As everyone does, I have had my fair share of myths that I built around myself. Ones that have taken some time to reveal themselves to me, and ones that were totally obvious. And no doubt more to come as I grow and become who I am here to be.
An example of a myth from my life is one around responsibility. Not just responsibility of myself and how I show up, but a level of responsibility for the safety and protection of others. I always felt it was necessary for me to protect and take care of other people, whether it was friends as a child when we would play after school, to not participating in fun activities as I felt by doing so, I was shirking my responsibility to make sure people didn’t hurt themselves, to limiting my life in enjoying life as I felt I needed to provide for others and myself.
I had shrouded myself in responsibility to the point that a friend beautifully informed me that I was disempowering others by making myself responsible for them. Well that was the slap in the face I needed to realise how interwoven my responsibility myth was in my life.
It has shown up in various ways, and different layers that I am sure I will still be peeling back on my death bed.
The act of letting go of a personal myth is difficult as it feels so embedded into your life, your cells, that you believe it is just part of you, or exactly who you are.
Is my responsibility myth a bad thing… absolutely not!
How I was experiencing and expressing my responsibility myth was however unhealthy and not serving of myself, nor others. Something had to change…
So, I rewrote my responsibility myth and I keep adjusting and rewriting parts of it, as things pop up. It’s a dynamic work in progress, which is what life is about really…isn’t it? A beautiful moving picture that we keep painting, repainting, and creating as we go.
What story are your myths telling you?
Are you the hero or heroine of your myths, or are you a martyr or victim?
Are you courageous or fearful?
Are you judgemental or forgiving?
Are you a lone wolf, or independent person?
Are you shy, timid?
Are you always poor and scraping by?
Do you always attract the same people into your life that end up hurting or betraying you?
Do you fail at everything you do?
Do you feel you will never finish anything you started?
Will people laugh and ridicule you if you step out and show up?
Will people be jealous or are they jealous of you?
What are your myths?
Spend some time identifying some of the myths that are showing up in your life and write about them. Ask some questions like:
- How is this myth serving me right now?
- What fears are holding me stuck in my myth?
- How can I rewrite this myth to something that serves who I am becoming?
If a myth is not serving you, it is time to get rid of it and rewrite a new story for you who are becoming. Not who you are now in this moment but who you are dreaming to become.
This is where the power is, in future dreaming and visualising of who you are becoming. By doing this, you can draw the future into the present and become that person today.
