Pay attention, you may have an ANT infestation.

When I say we're going to talk about an ANT infestation, I can imagine what you're thinking about. You're thinking about little crawly insects that come out when it's raining. Alas, I am not talking about those ants, guys. If we're honest, I'm not that great with insects. Ewww.

What I'm talking about are Automatic Negative Thoughts. ANTs for short. They can take over our minds faster than you can finish reading this sentence.

What's so bad about that? Brain science teaches us that we have 60-70,000 thoughts per day and the VAST majority of those are rehashed, reproduced, replayed. Yes, I know, that hurts your entrepreneurial, pioneer, innovator feelings. I feel that way too. It's the truth though. We replay thoughts in our minds like a broken record. Half of you have never even seen a record player, but they were real, I promise.

Here's the kicker: repetitive thoughts become beliefs. When we believe negative things, about ourselves or others, we limit our potential, limit our experience, limit our ability to find joy in life. The words we say to ourselves are the most important words we will ever hear. Our mind does not differentiate between what we hear from others or what we say to ourselves. Therefore, what we say to ourselves, if we repeat it over and over - becomes so ingrained in us, we believe it is the truth, even if it makes no sense. Our thoughts shape the trajectory of our lives more than any event or person. Get to know the repetitive thoughts in your mind, and more importantly change them, and you will single handedly change your life's path.

Before we get rid of our ANTs, we need to learn how to identify them. There are several types of ANTs and I want to go through a select few of them with you:

1. Black or White thinking. This is the "all or nothing" mentality. These thoughts usually start with the words "never" or "always". Example: "I always lose", "I never achieve my goals". The deal with these thoughts is they make us choose between one extreme or another. There is no middle ground. As humans, we're primed to think in black or white terms. Why? Because it's clear cut, it speaks to out fight or flight primitive brain functioning and it feels familiar in its' divisiveness: mine vs. yours. In the world of consciousness however, we need to step away from the micro and look at the macro; away from the form and into the formless, which is that we are all interdependent, interconnected, one. This topic of oneness vs. duality is a course in consciousness all on it's own, so we won't get all into in right now, but suffice it to say that black or white thinking is highly unconscious.
2. Labeling: Stupid/Bad/Lazy/Procrastinator. When we negatively label ourselves and others, we cross over into self judgement and criticism. Can you imagine what happens if the thought "I am not good enough" goes through your mind 10,000x a day? Yes, that many times. It created a neural pathway, a groove, in your brain. The more you have the thought, the deeper the groove until pretty soon you cannot distinguish your true self from this thought. You attach your identity to it, and you can't get out of that cycle.
3. Guilt thinking: When you think about what you "should" do for the sake of others but you haven't done it and are therefore a disappointment. "I should get married and have kids.". This type of negative thinking comes from cultural or familiar conditioning. Expectations put upon you by your parents, your environment, you culture. Expectations that may be in complete opposition to who you really are, but you never even took the opportunity to question that because you were inundated at such an early age.
4. Blame - When you think everything is someone else's fault. "I am unsuccessful because my parents never believed in me." Accountability is the first and most important step we can take in instigating change and admitting our co-creation of life's circumstances. This type of ANT is the most harmful, if you ask me. Why? because we cannot change anything until we first take ownership of our own crap. Without exterminating this ANT, you will stay stuck in your unconsciousness.
5. Fortune Telling - When you predict the worst possible outcome in the future. "I'm never going to get that job." Fortune telling is really like a movie script we go through in our minds. It takes us out of the present moment and into some point in the future where we think we already know how the story ends. We never give life a chance to manifest in the most creative, abundant ways. Moreover, because we think it so often, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy, so we keep "proving" to ourselves that it's true.

This is not an exhaustive list, there are other types too, but I just hand picked a few to give you an idea of what you could work on and where you can go deeper with your development as a human being, as a team leader, as a parent.

I know the question in your mind. You are saying "ok, this is great, now I can identify some ANT patterns, but how do I change them". This, my friend, is the work of conscious awakening. It is when you commit to the journey of understanding your cultural conditioning, belief systems, primal wounds and manifestation that results in a complete transformation of the self - from a caterpillar to a butterfly.

Conscious Parenting and Conscious Leadership will help you unlock your highest potential as a parent, leader and human being by smashing those ANTs and connecting with your life's purpose and most authentic self. Break free from the self imposed shackles of shame. Release your inner oppressor. Become your own liberator and savior. Take back your power and step into your own light.

If you're ready, chanel your inner exterminator and let's get rid of some ANTs using the principals of consciousness.

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