Humdrum

[hawkal]

I would like to go to CGW one day but when I project my ideas onto the event I can see how it would be fun and empowering. I would feel like I could make big changes to my life.

The feeling would last for a week or two after the event but then it's back to reality and the humdrum of life.

If you have been to CGW what was it like for you as the event came to an end and you made the transition back your usual life?

[PattyK]

I think you raise a really good point. I've definitely had that happen: attend a workshop, get inspired: "this time I'm really going to do it!" then go home, back to my old life and my old ways. And nothing changes. Or so it seems.

I only attended CGW2 - so it's still early days for me. So far, I'm finding that the changes are sticking and I'm feeling more committed every day.

I think it's because the workshop focused so much on personal awareness and facing up to truth (as opposed to motivational rah rah).

My experience is that once I *see* something, it takes a big effort to *unsee* it. I liken it to a small tear or mismatch on wallpaper: you can look at the wall every day for 15 years and it appears perfect. Then one day you notice the flaw. It's always been there, but you've never seen it before. Now, every time you look at that wall, your eyes are drawn to the flaw. Much as you try, you can't make it invisible again.

That's what CGW was like for me...my attention was drawn to certain areas of my life. Now that these things are visible, I can't help but be conscious of my decisions: do I continue in the same old ways or do I make changes?

And what changes do I make?

CGW was also about deciding what I want for my life - not being sold on what I should want, based on the perspective of the speaker. Thus, any changes I make are designed to lead me towards something I whole-heartedly want to pursue. Which makes tough decisions (and I do find some of them tough) easier to make.

[Kevin V]

Originally Posted by hawkal

I would like to go to CGW one day but when I project my ideas onto the event I can see how it would be fun and empowering. I would feel like I could make big changes to my life.

The feeling would last for a week or two after the event but then it's back to reality and the humdrum of life.

If you have been to CGW what was it like for you as the event came to an end and you made the transition back your usual life?

This didn't happen to me post-CGW#2 because my reality at home is fortunately no "humdrum". By telling yourself that you would return to "the humdrum of life" before even attending CGW, you're already setting yourself up to experience that. The power is in your hands to make your "usual life" as fun and empowering as the experience you would have at CGW. Believe you have the ability to do so. Then align yourself with the actions necessary to make it happen. Realize that it will happen.

[hawkal]

Originally Posted by PattyK

I think you raise a really good point. I've definitely had that happen: attend a workshop, get inspired: "this time I'm really going to do it!" then go home, back to my old life and my old ways. And nothing changes. Or so it seems.

I only attended CGW2 - so it's still early days for me. So far, I'm finding that the changes are sticking and I'm feeling more committed every day.

I think it's because the workshop focused so much on personal awareness and facing up to truth (as opposed to motivational rah rah).

My experience is that once I *see* something, it takes a big effort to *unsee* it. I liken it to a small tear or mismatch on wallpaper: you can look at the wall every day for 15 years and it appears perfect. Then one day you notice the flaw. It's always been there, but you've never seen it before. Now, every time you look at that wall, your eyes are drawn to the flaw. Much as you try, you can't make it invisible again.

That's what CGW was like for me...my attention was drawn to certain areas of my life. Now that these things are visible, I can't help but be conscious of my decisions: do I continue in the same old ways or do I make changes?

And what changes do I make?

CGW was also about deciding what I want for my life - not being sold on what I should want, based on the perspective of the speaker. Thus, any changes I make are designed to lead me towards something I whole-heartedly want to pursue. Which makes tough decisions (and I do find some of them tough) easier to make.

I like the way you have explained it. So it creates momentum and heightens your vision.

This didn't happen to me post-CGW#2 because my reality at home is fortunately no "humdrum". By telling yourself that you would return to "the humdrum of life" before even attending CGW, you're already setting yourself up to experience that. The power is in your hands to make your "usual life" as fun and empowering as the experience you would have at CGW. Believe you have the ability to do so. Then align yourself with the actions necessary to make it happen. Realize that it will happen.

The point is that I would imagine the seminar to be very empowering and motivational and you cannot sustain that for long. By humdrum I meant routine not boring.

It's like going on holiday, if you go on holiday it maybe because you do not enjoy your job and you cannot sustain that holiday high when you get back home.

[Kevin V]

Originally Posted by hawkal

The point is that I would imagine the seminar to be very empowering and motivational and you cannot sustain that for long. By humdrum I meant routine not boring.

It's like going on holiday, if you go on holiday it maybe because you do not enjoy your job and you cannot sustain that holiday high when you get back home.

This may be a limiting belief for you and the difference in our realities. The seminar was very empowering and motivational and I will continue to sustain that feeling for the rest of my life.

If you use your power to put yourself in a position where you love your job, you CAN sustain that holiday high when you get back home.

I'm 23 and a lot of my friends look forward to the weekend to go on a short "holiday" to let loose. The reason? Because they're recently out of college and are hit with their reality of an unfulfilling 9-5. I on the other hand look forward to everyday because everyday feels like the weekend. I don't have that desire to go on a much needed holiday to escape from my reality. My reality feels like a holiday, that's how I've been able to sustain that "holiday high" when I got home. If you look a few posts down, you will see I made a thread about frequently experiencing natural euphoria. In that thread I talk about how I'm able to continue experiencing my "holiday high" back home because of the extremely positive environment I live in at home.

[Patrick Ward]

This was definitely a concern for me as I left the conference. I felt fantastic while there, but feared coming home to the same circumstances as before.

However, while at CGW, I realized that my circumstances are of my own choosing. I had to face the truth that the situation I was in at home, was something I chose for myself. I couldn't blame my friends, my job, or my environment.

So, I chose to maintain that state of enlightenment after I returned. I made significant changes in my daily habits, in who I hung out with, and in how I was planning for my future. This took a lot of sweat and courage, but it was worth it. I still have much to do, but the point is that having made these choices I realized that it's not something external to me that creates the motivational or empowering experiences, it's my own choices in life that evoke those.

A conference like CGW gathers a lot of like minded and enthusiastic people in one place. So, it's easy to build up those vibrations and latch onto the wave created by the crowd. The key to maintaining that after the party is over is to befriend those same people and stay in contact with them after the conference. I'm amazed at the amount of enthusiasm and forward progress I see on Facebook, blogs, and twitter from the friends I made at CGW. They help keep me motivated daily; it's beautiful.

So, by keeping those CGW connections alive and realizing the power of motivation happens first with myself, I was able to take what I learned at CGW and apply it directly to my current life.

Hope this helps.

[theorique]

Originally Posted by Patrick Ward

A conference like CGW gathers a lot of like minded and enthusiastic people in one place. So, it's easy to build up those vibrations and latch onto the wave created by the crowd. The key to maintaining that after the party is over is to befriend those same people and stay in contact with them after the conference. I'm amazed at the amount of enthusiasm and forward progress I see on Facebook, blogs, and twitter from the friends I made at CGW. They help keep me motivated daily; it's beautiful.

Exactly!

By analogy, you don't go to running camp for three days and expect the effects to turn you into a top marathoner. Keeping your training going, staying connected to the community of athletes that you met at camp, maintaining your learning and growth, applying the principles of sports nutrition - these are all necessary inputs to keep the process of improvement going.

If 'what happens at CGW stays at CGW' then it's worse than doing nothing. In that case, not only do you stay where you are, but you begin lying to yourself, believing that you are making positive changes when you're really staying in the same place.

Maintaining the momentum of a short-term positive growth experience going is a choice.

-jack

[spadesmaster]

By staying connected to the group through email, forums, meetups, Skype, Facebook, I am definitely finding myself applying much more of what I learned.

[hawkal]

So it is really about anchoring triggers in your normal life that are connected with the empowering feeling felt while at the seminar like keeping in touch with people you met there.

[Kevin V]

If you choose to go to CGW, you can choose to connect with people there. You can choose to continue connecting with them after CGW to create the positive social-support group you choose to be a part of.

Although my environment at home is a positive one, it is even more positive because I continue connecting with most of the people I met there!

Originally Posted by hawkal

So it is really about anchoring triggers in your normal life that are connected with the empowering feeling felt while at the seminar like keeping in touch with people you met there.