Howdy, this week’s post is inspired by a recent experience I had while revisiting some of my old work. The lesson is worthwhile even if you don’t have the same backlog of reference material as me. You can still do it regardless; it just will require you to think back through your past.

So, I was just about to write my one A4 page of conscious thoughts the other day when I stopped for a moment and started to look back at days’ past. That practice was actually something I think forgot to mention when I talked about the technique the first time.

Initially, I looked through the early pages of the current exercise book I’m writing in, but that didn’t go far enough back as that book started in the second half of last year. What I did was I busted out one of the old exercise books from a couple years back. What I found was amazing.

To start off with the basics, my hand writing had gotten so much better as it looked neater and I could fit more words on a page. But after skimming through a number of pages and jumping around from month to month I was shocked at the what was less obvious.

Firstly, some of the issues or problems that were on my mind at that point in time, now looking back, weren’t really that much of a problem or if anything were a good thing because they enabled me to grow.

Another matter was that my frame of reference was different. Early on, much of my writing was centred on myself, the things on my mind usually related solely to me. But now, I take a more inclusive view of things, I seem to be seeing things through the lens of not just myself but that of community. In the sense that, I’m not focused on just what’s good for me but what would be good for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, I still use my own personal frame as well but there is a shift away from “I” to “We”.

Similar to the first point, things that I thought were important or traits that I thought were valuable. Seem to hold less significance now. Almost as if the more I’ve grown and learned, the more my value structure has developed in tandem.

What I want you to do as an exercise is to go back through your tools such as your consciousness writing, daily to do lists, daily goals lists (there is a difference between goals and to-do lists, one is about tasks while the other is about ideal destinations), habit trackers, personal journals as well as any other tool you maintain. To find that shift or change in thinking.

Now, you might be thinking, “Wait I haven’t been doing any of those things” or “I haven’t been doing them long enough to see a noticeable change”. Well, even if you haven’t been doing them for ages, still give them a revisit as you might be able to notice minor changes or the initial seeds of change.

In the case having not done them, go find my blog posts and youtube videos on those techniques and make a start. On top of that, think back in your mind, maybe go back 5 years or so. And think about the problems you were facing, what did you think was important and what values did you think were desirable? Then compare that to what you think about those things now, maybe even write it down so you have a record of it.

Like always, thank you my Hedites, your support is always appreciated. I see every day more and more people engaging in the practice of bettering their lives for themselves and for others. I feel that our cooperative is really starting to gain some traction but we need to keep the good energy going. So, let’s start sharing the campaign online to get people talking.

I’m doing my part, how about you?