Pattern Interrupt

“We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you an urgent message.” Have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe your daily programming is the root of most of your problems? If you’re like most people you operate on autopilot day in and day out. Humans have an average of up to 50,000 thoughts per day. Amazingly up to 95 percent are the same thoughts, repeated every day (according to the National Science Foundation). That’s a lot of repetition. And very little space for new thinking. Einstein summed it up nicely.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Although the world does seem to be on the axis of insanity lately, we can choose not to create the same trajectory for ourselves. Every single minute of the day we can choose again. You can hop on the train of insane or opt for ease. It’s up to you. So how would you suggest I get out of this fruit loopty loop swirl of toxic, boring, negative self-sabotaging thoughts and patterns that don’t serve me, Lynn? Using an NLP tool called a pattern interrupt is the first step.

A pattern interrupt, speaking in terms of a technique, comes from Neuro Linguistic Programming and is a way of changing a person’s mental, emotional, or behavioral state or strategy. Developing the skill set for creating a pattern interrupt can help you learn new behaviors that lead you powerfully forward toward living a more intentional, passion-filled life.

Awareness is the key ingredient for creating a pattern interrupt and learning a new behavior. How can you possibly change something that you are unconscious about in the first place? Simply take a breath and investigate what’s not working. After all your outside world mirrors your inside world. Are you incredibly overweight? Are massively in debt? Are you dragging along comatose all day? Are your relationships strained and contentious? Are you utterly miserable at work? Are you allowing people to treat you poorly? Are you operating in overwhelm most of the time? Are you constantly in crisis, contradiction or chaos? I suggest doing a come to Jesus self-evaluation, pinpoint the exact moment when you get derailed, then get to work on shifting your conditioning.

Pattern interrupts are just a shift in energy and focus. Most are very effective and some can actually be fun. Here are a few examples. Wear a hairband/rubber band on your wrist, when the thought or pattern pops up, snap it. Do some jumping jacks, get up and shift your space, walk around, make a cup of tea, call a friend, pet the dog/cat, do a Wonder Woman power stance, count tiles on the ceiling or floor, have a tennis ball on your desk or table and throw it back and forth from left to right. Here’s the easiest and my most favorite one of all just “STOP IT.” I literally say to myself “JUST STOP IT LYNN” out loud, or in my mind if I am somewhere where I would embarrass myself. lol

If you have 6 minutes and 21 seconds, I highly recommend watching this YouTube video aptly named “STOP IT” featuring Bob Newhart.

The list of interruption ideas can go on and on, but you get the picture. It’s about creating a disruption, moving energy, and changing the thoughts and behaviors for a more positive outcome. Ask yourself “What thought, or action will serve me better in this moment?” The more you practice this awareness, the things that are plaguing you will miraculously shift to magnificence. I hope this serves you as it has for me. As always, it’s an Inside-Project.