The one thing that has become a full-time job is trying to get this dog to do exist in our home without destroying everything and making life hell! I talked last time about Cocoa’s animal instinct and how there are some things that are just to be expected because he’s a dog, and that’s what dogs do. I mentioned how some of those behaviors are to be corrected and how they must be dealt with.
Today, I want to talk about changing those behaviors through something that is highly discussed in the animal world but translates often into human life, CONDITIONING.
I’m not talking about fitness, although there’s some overlap there (and certainly where that comes from). But I am going to speak to it from the platforms of behavioral and mental modification.
Conditioning: the process of training or accustoming a person or animal to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances.
This means, there are processes that a person or animal undergoes which produce specific outcomes. Let’s talk about Cocoa. I recently took him on a walk and for the first ½ mile at least, he tried to drag me at full power and go everywhere he wanted. In doing so, I think he almost passed out because he was choking himself so badly as I simply held the leash tightly and did not allow him the freedom he desired.
I almost felt bad, but I knew this behavior couldn’t be tolerated. If the boys were on the other end of the leash, or even Ashly, instead of me, as he gets older and bigger and stronger, he would be taking them for a walk…or run.
So, I held my ground, and with the incessant verbal commands coupled with the electric shock from his new collar, and sprinkled audible praises upon compliance, on the second half of the walk, he was no longer trying to break free and drag me around. He was being conditioned to walk with acceptable behavior and learning a desired outcome with leash protocol.
The idea of conditioning is that an automated response is generated with repetition of a certain process. Look up Pavlov's Dog Experiment for more info on this subject. Pavlov discovered that there were predictable and automated responses based on certain stimuli. The dogs in the experiment would salivate when food came. Pavlov added a ringing bell and found that the sound itself produced a conditioned response, saliva, same as the unconditioned stimulus, the food. The bell produced saliva as it became associated with the bringing of food and eventually could generate the response without the food at all!
I want to give you 5 things by which we are being unconsciously conditioned and why it matters.
Cell phone. This device runs our lives as it contains work, pleasure, shopping, social interaction, tools for life and addictive notifications for everything. It blurs lines between where work stops and starts. It detracts and distracts from the present moment. It elicits dopamine responses and keeps us coming back for more. Our world and behavior and even attitudes/moods become shaped by our connectedness to our device.
Social Media/Media/News/Entertainment. We get this in our phone but the messages we get from these pathways are worth noting separately as they also come outside the phone as well and are compounded by our indulgences and binges with all of it. We scroll mindlessly thinking about all the things WE COULD BE or spend hours lost in a fantasy on a screen. We replay the stories and feed our fears of unrealized dreams and unrealistic realities.
Time. We are run by a clock. Certain times generate different responses for us and our moods and perspectives can change based on what day or time of day it is. Mondays might push us into a low or Fridays might promote positivity.
Family & Friends. The people we are closest to affect our perspectives the most as we feed off those relationships. We look to these people to affirm our feelings and defend our plights. These loved ones can subconsciously change our frame of mind or send us in either direction more extreme than others.
Stress. This part of life is inevitable and unavoidable and not necessarily a bad thing. Our body responds to stress in miraculous ways. God has designed us to survive and stressors cause physiological responses that enables us to do just that. Our senses are heightened, we narrow our focus, and blood supply is circulated more rapidly to elevate our ability to react. But, certain situations are potentially unnecessary stressor, producing such responses inappropriately. And constant stress leads to physical ailments and erodes health.
Scripture teaches that we should “not be mastered by anything” (1 Cor 10:22-24, 31) and that we are responsible for our actions (Rom. 14:10-13; Rev. 20:12) as well as what we do with our thoughts (2 Cor 10:3-5). So, to borrow a popular buzz word, it’s time we get WOKE! This is to become aware and the only way we find out what’s controlling us is to wake up to what is provoking us to behave in certain ways. If we stay asleep here, we’ll be made into whatever person our specific stimuli determine.
3 ways to recondition our lives/mind more consciously:
Different makes a Difference. “If you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got,” my coach always said. So, changing up your routine, switching up your habitual, and making your brain think about the mundane and mindless will allow you to step back and see things from another angle. This will force you to get present, evaluate what you are doing, and take inventory of the bigger picture, which will provide an opportunity to change, if needed. Plus, scripture teaches that we’re “transformed by the renewing of our minds” or simply put, thinking differently! (Romans 12:2)
Scripture/Journaling. The word of God is ALIVE and ACTIVE, sharper than a surgeon’s knife, and can cut to core of our being and is capable of teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training, to make us into what God has created us to be. (Heb 4:12; 2 Tim 3:16-17). Journaling in general is a healthy mental release but keeping track of the spiritual lessons, scriptural revelations, and even questions help track the process we’re undergoing.
Prayer/Silence/Meditation. Jesus, the master teacher, and only perfect human modeled this behavior regularly. Throughout his public ministry life, he was frequently found to be alone with the Father. In our society’s accelerated pace we have a hard time pausing very long and find it difficult, even scary, to turn off the noise and just be quiet. But this practice is a guaranteed method of resetting, reorienting, and restoring your life.
So, I invite you to just think for a minute about how you’re being conditioned and then choose one pathway to recondition your mind and life!
#TheBeastWithin
#Conditioning
#RestoringWholenessOfLife
Brett
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