Posts tagged with "The Abba Tradition’s book on Theory of Everything"

word "resume" on black surface

Starting Over In Life: Here Are Your 5 Steps To Create The Life You Want

Photo by Anna Tarazevich

Are you exhausted from being held back by your limitations? It is time to break free from them and start living out your best days.

Life comes in seasons. And life changes. Everyone goes through transitions. People go through life changes, whether emotional maturing, aging, spiritual alignment, retirement, parenthood, or entering or leaving a relationship. However, some people embrace change better than others. When change happens, some may wonder how to begin over and make the best of the new circumstances they find themselves in.

Change is inevitable. It often causes people to examine their values or re-evaluate their priorities. And sometimes, it leads them to this question: What should I do with my life? Should I start over in life? Where do I go from here? You are not alone. It is okay not to know where you are going next. It is okay if you still need to have a perfectly outlined roadmap to your final destination. 

This article walks you through what it means to start over in life and the queries you should ask yourself. After all, everyone gets one life to live. Humans are all on an expedition to find their best version — but you do not have to do it alone. 

5 Steps To Starting Over With Life

You might be ready to dive in and start over. But starting over in life does not mean you have lost everything you have learned, gained, and experienced—quite the contrary. Your experiences have waxed you into where you are now. And today, you are lucky to be wiser than you were just a month ago. 

Use what you know best: yourself. 

Step 1. Start With Reflection. Before making any changes, you must first understand where you are starting. It can be challenging to sit with your thoughts, but it is easy to let your mind wander. This is because human brains are good at putting up defenses. And so, make sure you carve out the space and time for reflection. Sit down and assess yourself and your life. What do you notice? Consider doing some writing to help capture your thoughts, or you can read a good book on uncovering the meaning of life that asks a person to consider the physical, spiritual, psychological, and transcendent development to encompass what life is. The Abba Tradition’s book, on its theory of everything, focuses on seeing the parts and the whole of who one is. It offers a new way of seeing the reality of who people are and the truth that lies in the worlds they live, hinting that people’s perceptions are different from each other. Hence, how one sees himself may differ from how others see him. There is no surefire way of telling whose perception is correct because there is no “locally real” reality, including how one sees himself.

Step 2. Examine Your Value System. This is a big one. Your values have likely shifted over time. If you are evolving and changing as a human and your circumstances or responsibilities have changed, your values often do, too. It is not that you have an extensive change in all of your values. Still, the relative importance usually varies, and some get left behind in favor of various values that reflect your current circumstance, age, and stage. 

Step 3. Revisit And Rewrite Your Goals. Even if you have written a goal, you can continue to commit to it if it no longer sets the path you want to go. It is natural that goals shift and change. You might have yet to think about the personal goals you would like to set for yourself. Take a minute to revisit your goals. They can be lofty goals, too. 

Step 4. Have The Courage To Commit To Change. Committing to change is no easy stunt. It takes bravery, courage, and self-awareness. It also takes a level of intentionality. Once you know your values, goals, and where you are starting, it is time to map out your next move. In many ways, this step is more about a perspective shift and mindset than anything. Think of starting fresh. You get to restructure your new life. Encouragement and positive self-talk can be good tools here. 

Step 5. Get A Coach. Any amount of change can be adamant. You will need a support system if you plan on starting over in life. Aside from family members, loved ones, and friends, it is advantageous to have counseling from an objective outsider who can aid you reflect on yourself. Someone to help provide impartial advice, confide in, challenge you and help push your growth.  

Final Thoughts

It is possible to learn how to start over and make life changes. If you are ready for a new start, there is no better time than now. You can carve a path to a better life and begin to make changes for the better.

 

 

a photo of someone’s reflection on a mirror shard

The Distorted Looking Glass

Photo by Lamar Belina

The Abba Traditions book on the Theory of Everything posits that people have different perceptions of reality depending on how they see the world. In line with this theory, people may also perceive themselves a little differently than how others do.

Back in 2015, a photograph made its way around the world, astonishing people. “The Dress” photo divided people into seeing a gold-white dress or a blue-black one on a single photograph of a dress. A simple trick of lighting and exposure became grounds for people to question how they perceive and understand reality.

To this day, not many can fully explain how the phenomenon occurred, and the recent physics Nobel prize winners may exacerbate this confusion among people.

The research to explain the complex world of quantum mechanics laid the groundwork to conclude that the universe may not be “locally real.” In this sense, local means worldly objects are influenced by their surroundings, and this so-called influence can’t travel any faster than light.

Additionally, “real” signifies that things have definite properties regardless of people’s observations. For instance, the moon still exists even without anybody looking at it.

People’s Perception of Themselves

This means that objects might not have definite properties outside people’s observation. People might ask how they genuinely perceive themselves and their lives.

In The Abba Tradition’s book on the Theory of Everything, it’s posed that people must consider the physical, psychological, spiritual, and transcendent growth to encompass what life is.

This theory emphasizes seeing the whole and the parts to see who one is. It offers a new way of seeing the reality of who people are and the reality that lies in the worlds they live, hinting that people’s perceptions are different than each other. Hence, how one sees himself may differ from how another sees him. There’s no surefire way of telling whose perception is correct because there’s no “locally real” reality, including how one sees himself.

How One Perceives Himself Differently Than Others

In psychology, this theory is commonly called the “Looking-Glass Self.” This describes the process where individuals base their perception of themselves on how they believe others view them. This process, paired with people’s internalized personal biases, leads to this disparity of perception.

Imposter Syndrome

Ever experienced receiving a compliment and not believing anything the person is saying? “Are they truly describing me?” “Do they think I’m competent in that skill?” This is the typical thought process of people experiencing imposter syndrome.

This refers to the internal experience of not believing that the person is as competent as how others see them, leading to them doubting their abilities and talents. In extreme cases, people may feel like they’re a fraud and experience a subtle sense of dissociation.

The disparity in perception comes from people’s lack of self-esteem, a lacking belief that they’re doing well or better than what they believe. Hence, when people describe them as doing well in certain activities, they tend to perform poorly and prove them wrong.

Unfair Comparisons

Social media’s significant involvement in people’s lives makes them feel an unfair dissatisfaction with how their lives play out. Not realizing or considering that social media users only put out their best experiences, people continue to look at these as how an “ideal life” should be.

This constant comparison causes people distress and thinks of themselves as less on many levels – a misperception of their genuine selves. Simply because they aren’t satisfied with their lives due to social media’s influence, people perceive themselves differently than how they genuinely are.

Confirmation Bias

Over time because of the different situations people have experienced, they may begin to form preconceived notions or characteristics they have associated with themselves.

In line with this preconception, they may interpret the world in a way that confirms the characteristics they have about themselves. People have intensely perceived and believed themselves to be this way. Thus, they only seek affirmations of what they’ve long believed in.

This isn’t an issue if their preconceptions are positive. Such that if they consider themselves to be intelligent or kind, then they will interpret people’s sentiments and behavior around them to be in line with these notions.

The disparity begins if they have extremely negative perceptions of themselves. In this situation, they may think that others also see them in the same light they see themselves.

Self-Rationalization

Some people may want to preserve a good reputation. To do this, they may make excuses for their experiences and behaviors that maintain a positive perception and protect themselves. It’s similar to looking at the situation in a positive light. For instance, they may defend themselves when they fail a job interview or promotion and rationalize they don’t want the position. But more often than not, this rationalization is the complete opposite of what they truly want.