We are Our Past:
I am the Sum Total of My Past
© Pat Lu 1997

If you want to get to know yourself better, maybe learn to love yourself and the world a wee bit more... read on...

Part I
OUR HOUSE

We do the thing we do...
We think the way we think...
We are what we are...
BECAUSE of our Past.

When we were born, we were like a clear, clean whiteboard. Everyone and everything makes a mark on us. Our board begins to fill up.

We begin to establish a pattern of thought and of behaviour. Our Personality, Strengths and Weaknesses develop.

Experiences mark us for better or worse. We make judgements about people, values, everything based on the inputs we receive.

Slowly, all these inputs (especially the CONSISTENT ones) come together to form PATTERNS OF THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIOUR. All of which comes together to form our values and the HOUSE we must live in for years to come.

The FACT is, our house is built by others. By Events mostly not of our doing.

It is a house that oftentimes become a jail cell that imprisons us in a particular way of thinking and of behaviour.

It is a house of many fears and insecurities, as well as, powerful memories.  Some good, some ugly but having an impact on the way we live.

Mostly by the time we become adults, we are living in a house that others built, a house that gives us joy or pain or a little of both.

A house that we like or despise.  A house where we feel comfortable and happy or insecure and angry.

If we look closely at our house, what is it made of?
What is its style, its decor like?
Who built and what is in our house?

Here are a few things you might consider.  Reflect on how you feel about them (and others); - Fears (all kinds); Parents; Family (brothers and sisters); Friends; Relationships (with others); Security (emotional and financial); Wealth; Career; Dependence; Independence; Love; your Values; your Personality; Generosity; Poverty; Country; Religion; School; Sex; Shyness;... the list goes on.

Part II
CHANGE
You need not accept your house as it is. You can change it!

Knock down some walls! Rearrange the furniture! Change the decor! You may even want to build annexes and bulldoze parts of your house! Perhaps add a garden to beautify it!

When you were a child... You had little choice in the matter... Unable to discern... Unwilling victim of people and circumstances.

Now that you are an adult... Take charge of your life and rebuild!... Modify or preserve your old house!... Do your own housekeeping -- retain what is of value and discard what is negative, burdensome and destructive!

First, recognize what you treasure and why? Then, reinforce those patterns by repeating them as often as possible.

To change what you don't like in your house, you must BREAK old patterns. You can do this by reversing trends, doing the opposite.

It takes courage, determination and consistency to change but the rewards are great.

It is very possible for you to built your NEW HOUSE. What is needed is a VISION -- of your old house and a blue print for your New House. Then, the courage to move forward.

Part III
IMPACT YOU HAVE ON OTHERS
BE AWARE You are helping build the houses of others too.

One word, an action is enough to mark a person for better or worse.
For example, as Teachers... You spend as much (and sometimes more) waking hours with the children than their parents.

You are having an impact on them whether or not you know it, want it or care about it.

You are building their Houses. If yours is a beautiful work of art, then you are living up to your noble profession and the children will be grateful as your work lives on in them for a lifetime.

If on the other hand, you damage them, that hurt will have to dealt with later, as the child will carry his damaged heart throughout his life.

You need to be constantly aware of the IMPACT (positive or negative) that you are having on your students.

Pat Lu, President & CEO RAYMA Management Consultants (M'sia) Sdn Bhd. For the complete version, go to: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/9888/.
In-house seminar details, contact RAYMA Management Consultants (M'sia) Sdn Bhd, at Tel: (03) 7044 666 Fax: (03) 7044 484 or email: rayma@po.jaring.my

PAT LU's FAVORITES. MUST READ!...
by Robert Harold Schuller...
Tough Times Never Last, but Tough People Do!  (1984)
If It's Going to Be, It's Up to Me : The Eight Proven Principles of Possibility Thinking (1997)
Be Happy Attitudes (1997)
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