What Traveling to 30+ Countries Taught Me About Common Sense
If you’ve traveled a lot, you’d know that it allows profound insights not only into different places, but also into different ways of being. For me personally, traveling to more than 30 countries over the course of many years has provided me with some profound lessons and realisations - too many to discuss in one blog post!
Today I’d like to explore what ‘common sense’ truly means with you and how it influences our lives.
The Myth of Common Sense
When traveling the world, you quickly learn that what one person considers "common sense" can be vastly different from another's perspective. Each country, culture, and community has its norms—ways of doing things that seem perfectly natural to the locals but might be completely foreign to outsiders. These norms form our belief systems, or dogmas, which guide our daily actions without us even realizing it.
Understanding Dogma and Conditioning
Conditioning is essentially the set of beliefs we've picked up over our lifetime. These beliefs come from our upbringing, media, education, and cultural surroundings. We adopt these ideas as "normal" and rarely question them. This conditioning creates a pressure cooker inside us, especially for those of us who are high achievers and driven by purpose.
Think about it: How often do you find yourself following a routine or making decisions based on what you were taught as a child, rather than what truly feels right for you? These ingrained beliefs can sometimes cause inner conflict and stress, making us feel out of alignment with our true selves.
Living in alignment means being true to yourself and your values, regardless of external pressures.
Breaking Free from Conditioning
To live a life that feels authentic and fulfilling, we need to start questioning these automatic thoughts and behaviours. Here's how you can begin this process:
Recognize Your Beliefs
Start by paying attention to your automatic thoughts. When you find yourself thinking, "I have to do this," or "I should be doing that," ask yourself “Who says this?”. Is this belief truly yours, or did you inherit it or take it on from someone else?Challenge Your Norms
When you identify a belief that doesn't resonate with you, challenge it. Ask yourself if there's a different way to approach the situation that feels more aligned with who you are and what you value.Create New Habits
Develop habits that support your true self. This might mean changing your routine, setting new boundaries, or finding new ways to express your unique perspective.
Living in Alignment
Living in alignment means being true to yourself and your values, regardless of external pressures. It's about creating a life where your actions, thoughts, and feelings are in alignment. This alignment brings a sense of peace and fulfilment, allowing you to unlock your full potential.
From this place, you can take aligned and deliberate action that in turn leads to aligned outcomes.
Therefore I invite you to be curious about your thoughts and actions, as you go through your day. Whenever you catch yourself thinking you "have to" do something, pause and reflect. Who's voice are you hearing? Is it truly your own, or is it someone else's?
By questioning and understanding these influences, you can start to step back from the conditioning you've received and figure out what truly aligns with you.
If you're ready to dive deeper and uncover the root cause of what's holding you back, let's connect. Together, we can free you from conditioning, make sure you’re aligned with your true self, and achieve astronomical growth. Book a call today to start your journey toward ultimate flow, freedom, wealth and impact.