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Chocolate Stinkbugs
By karen | May 26, 2007
Many of us grew up in the self-improvement ranks with Tony Robbins. If you were alive and kicking in the 90’s you could not have missed the exuberance and teeth that Tony displayed on the constant infomercials. Tony was an incredible motivator back in those days wasn’t he? He probably still is but I don’t see infomercials on at all hours of the day and night anymore. I know that he is still around, probably hanging out in Fiji with his new wife. Yeah, I always wondered about that one too. Here was this man telling people how to have a great relationship and then he went through many of the same problems with his relationship that others do. I know that it is just human but it did affect his credibility in at least that area. When someone expresses himself or herself as a master you don’t expect them to falter. That is just human too.
Being the self-improvement junkie that I am, of course I have Tony’s program and Tony’s books. Tony used to say that if you wanted to change something in your life you just needed to do a pattern interrupt and change your mind association to it. For example if you hated your work you needed to do a pattern interrupt and change how you felt about it. Make yourself feel empowered about it. Turn your emotions around.
So basically the way I understand it you change your bad emotions and associations about it and you soon become “A Total Success” (Tony’s words remember?)
He gave some tools to do this; the one I mentioned about pattern interrupts which is something like doing something goofy when the negative emotions and thoughts come up. And another good tool was to ask yourself better questions. So rather than asking, “Why do I hate this job?” you ask yourself something better like “What can I do to start liking this job?”
And it is all fine and dandy and perhaps it works in some instances, but what about the spiritual component?
When you are having negative emotions it is your indication that the thoughts that you are having at this moment are not in alignment with what you truly want, what your soul wants, what you truly desire deep in your heart.
So according to Tony you just change your thoughts and change your negative emotions and then it is all better and you are on your way to “total success”.
What about listening to your own inner guidance system? There are things that make your heart sing and things that really make you happy. Aren’t those the things that are on your path? Aren’t those the things that will guide you to your passions and your purpose?
If you are feeling negative emotions about something doing a pattern interrupt or asking a more empowering question just sugarcoats it. It doesn’t change it. You put chocolate on a stinkbug and you don’t get an M&M, you get a chocolate stinkbug. And even if it is chocolate covered a stinkbug has got to taste bad!
So I think I have figured out why I could never really make Tony’s strategies work for me. It was because the things I was trying to change my feelings about were not leading me to the life I truly wanted. Those things would not fulfill the dreams that I had; those things were not what I truly wanted within my soul. That’s why it didn’t work. It wasn’t because I was weak that I could still taste the stinkbug through the chocolate. It was because the stinkbug was a stinkbug for me. It may have been something wonderful for someone else as it may have been what they truly wanted but it was not in my heart and my soul.
Negative emotions are indicators that you are not on the path of what you truly want. Reach for the better thought and you will start moving towards what you really and truly want. If it feels better it is because you are releasing resistance and moving towards your souls desire.
Don’t sugarcoat your emotions. Don’t put chocolate on stinkbugs.
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Topics: Deliberate Creation, Living the Power, Personal Development |
May 26th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Well said, Karen! “Don’t put chocolate on stinkbugs.” I tried to do that for the longest time, myself… hide the fact that I was dying inside by plastering a smile on my face. It didn’t take long for the face to crumble…
I was one of those inspired by Tony Robbins, and I really remember those infomercials. His first one had Pamela Anderson on it, when she was on “Tool Time”… wow, I know way too much about that.
May 26th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Thanks Lyman! It seems you went through some of the same “chocolate stinkbugs”.
Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate you!
May 26th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
So true, so very true. I think Tony has some good ideas but really misses the boat in some very elemental ways.
May 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
yes, he is a great motivator but there were always things like what I mentioned that just didn’t work out the way he promised.
Thanks for stopping by!
August 6th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
And I thought chocolate covered grasshoppers was bad. Yikes!