From Awareness Builder 101: Chapter 6

6. The Unedited Version

 

Thank you for reading this far! It could be that you got inspired by what you’ve been reading and you’re hoping for more thought provoking stuff. Simply keep reading with this mindset, I’m sure you will indeed find more of that.

It could be quite the opposite, where you find yourself less inspired or even bored. Simply keep reading with that mindset and I’m sure, I guarantee you, you’ll find more of that stuff!

When you’re in the mood for a little experiment, you could try reading with the opposite mind-set. Fair chance that you will start seeing things from the other perspective. Since, at the end of the day, perspective is a powerful choice, don’t be surprised when you actually start experiencing different emotions around what you read, even exactly in the way you chose to look at it.

 

Some spiritual teachers describe the fact we’re able to choose how we see and experience whatever happens in life, as the gift of ultimate freedom. Of course, this I don’t want to take away from you…

I believe that in essence I am not even able to do so, nor could anyone else. You might be influenced by someone else, at the end of the day it still is your choice.

This is actually the whole point of this book; to make you aware of certain topics, that you start reflecting on it and that you consciously choose how to see things. Whatever I write, how I write it, it doesn’t really matter that much. My main longing for you is that you find your own inspiring way to see things. So when you’re not inspired by what you read, start exploring how you would like to be inspired around that topic. If you’re not inspired by how things are being worded, please challenge your thoughts how you would have worded it.

 

Also when you are inspired by what you read, explore more deeply what’s been evoked in you that makes you feel inspired. That way you’ll deepen your learning and make it more consciously yours. Do not simply accept or even embrace it at first sight! No! Take what you read and after reflecting on it, make these words your own authentic words, thoughts and feelings.

That’s why this book has the subtitle ‘The Unedited Version’. These are my authentic words, my current perspective. It was a conscious choice to not ask an editor to ‘polish’ my words. It would simply take away from the authenticity of it. A gift of having this book edited, would be that it would evoke more thinking in me and new insights. Then I could rewrite my words to update them. Before publishing, the editor would look at it again and since the editor, in the meantime also processed the words and own thoughts and feelings around it, would also have new insights again. See what could happen? We would be able to keep rewriting and editing, create a never ending loop and never get to the point of publishing.

This would be the ultimate victory for my saboteurs – my inner critics who don’t want me to step into new things – who’d love to say it could always be better. In itself that’s correct. Their victory would be that you would never be reading this book, that your thoughts would never be evoked by it. Hence, no change, the ultimate goal of saboteurs.

So here you are, reading the unedited version, a victory over my saboteurs!

 

And now, please create your own unedited authentic version of the words you’re reading.

 

 

Journaling questions for this chapter:

 

Where am I allowing others or circumstances to write the story of my life?

 

How does the unedited version of my life story look like?

 

For that matter, what do I want to embrace and what to let go of?

 

 

© 2024. Alex Verlek, Coaching Works International.

 

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