We have all been conditioned to think a certain way, to respond a certain way, and to see a certain way.

Our conditioning begins long before birth and continues long after.

This is how we grow to learn our alphabet, to speak words, to see ourselves. We are conditioned through repetitive instruction, and engagement in behaviors that are either reinforced or broken through reward systems and systems of discipline.

This is how we learn. This is how we become.

“The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

The great illusion

Tell someone something long enough and they will believe it to be true. Once these ideologies have been grounded they are hard to break. We are conditioned over time. For some the conditioning has been so lengthy, that the chains remain long after we are free in body. This is the great illusion.

“If freedom is a requisite for human happiness, then all that’s necessary is to provide the illusion of freedom.”
― B.F. Skinner

Most of our conditioning occurs without our knowledge. The whole of our environment works to condition our behaviors. Visual cues and auditory cues all work to reinforce behaviors. Our emotion and desires stem from this conditioning.

It is our knowledge that drives our ambition, vision, and goals. Our experience with our environment teaches us well what is deemed an appropriate emotional response.

It is wise to cut off all those things which reinforce  behaviors you are trying to break. It is difficult to break a habit if you are around others who indulge in your vice. Your sensory cues reinforce the behavior, and war against you even when you work your hardest to break the hold. Thus, changing your environment and influences will ultimately affect your outcome.

It is difficult to break your conditioning.

The longer you have been conditioned the longer it will take to break. The more active you must be in trying to replace the old habits with new ones.

To re-condition yourself you will have to 

1. Break ties with anyone that embraces the behavior you are trying to break

2. Disengage in any activity that feeds your subconscious (such as music, media, and literature), and reinforces the negative behaviors

3. Replace the old activity with a new activity or behavior.

4. Identify the triggers that lend you to partake in the old behaviors

5. Whenever you receive the mental signal, deliberately, and as immediately as possible engage in the new behavior

4. Actively reward yourself for sticking with your new activity

5. Find a group of people who embrace the behavior you are trying to build (you will need support)

6. Keep a log (daily to chart progress)

Change the way you look at things

If caught in a negative cycle, you have to change the way you look at things. You are not that negative behavior. You have been conditioned to accept that behavior as an inseparable component of your make up.

This is not true. If you have been conditioned you can be unconditioned. It starts with a change in perspective and how you see yourself.

How we move about in the world and interact with the world is so very important. This is often something we take for granted.