subject: Why Is Change So Hard? [print this page] Why is change so hard? Why cant we just get where we want to be? The answer is the drunk monkey. The drunk monkey in your head, all of the talking, all of the chatter, all of that blah, blah, blah! Its not interested in change. It doesnt want change.
The only time the drunk monkey wants change is if it is strategically effective to change in order to manipulate people into believing that youre good enough so that you can stay alive longer by showing everyone how powerful you are. It changes out of pain. It changes to get away from stuff.
But thats not what youre doing. Youre changing because you want, because you desire, because you want to go forward. Well, I hate to break the news, but the drunk monkey doesnt care about that. The drunk monkey wants to keep things the same as much as possible. Why? Because keeping things the same represents safety. If you know what is going to happen next, you feel safe and secure. The drunk monkey in your head is doing everything in its power to keep things the same. But guess what? Your new goals and dreams, those are outside of the comfort zone. They represent different.
Goals and dreams represent new. They represent the unknown. And guess what? The thinking in your head will resist. You ever set a goal to go on a diet before? Whos the first one to convince you to eat a cookie? The drunk monkey. You ever said, Thats it. I am gonna get up in the morning, and Im gonna work out. Whos the first one to say, Oh, just hit the snooze. Its no big deal. The drunk monkey.
Be aware of your drunk monkey and stay focused on your goals and dreams. The more aware you are that the drunk monkey is causing these thoughts, the easier it will be to ignore them.
