“One’s opinion is itself a matter of chance”, notes one of Kafka’s characters in the surreal and mind-bending tale of The CastleBut, how true this is for so many of us, much of the time! Matters of chance don’t just stop at opinion, they often extend to our deepest beliefs and to the very core of how we relate to life. 

Experiences 

The mind is like a hall of mirrors that picks up and reflects all manner of things back to us. So, if we don’t pay much attention to it, we can start to get accustomed to what we see in these reflections. Such that over time, certain ideas slowly take hold and become our deeper beliefs. Beliefs, which living outside of your conscious awareness, influence so much of your behaviour and how you live.

We are all a product of our life experiences and many of our experiences were matters of chance! Matters over which you had little control, especially the further back you go in your life and into your childhood. 

Choice

While the past and indeed much of the future may be a matter of chance, how you relate to them need not be. You have choice over how you feel and react, what opinions you hold and what beliefs you embody.

However, since our default state is one of accumulating tendencies as a matter of chance, we have to very deliberately make it our business to investigate the mind. To investigate our opinions, behaviours and beliefs. To ask where they come from and if they truly make sense to us?  Otherwise, we risk becoming victims of all manner of influences, trends and fads blown our way by the winds of fate.  

Beyond a matter of chance

This process of self-enquiry may lead you to question long-held beliefs and ways of living. And, that may seem unsettling and uncomfortable. But, would you rather better understand yourself and fully-own who you are, or simply continue on autopilot? 

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life coaching londonHarsha is a 1:1 coach and independent thinker based in London. He empowers people to find more clarity, confidence and focus in their lives — to cut through the noise, in a world so full of it. Harsha’s new book, Machine Ego: Tragedy of the Modern Mind, is now available in paperback and Kindle through Amazon.

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