By Gregg Sanderson
The RACE Trap is THE obstacle to spiritual and personal development. RACE is an acronym that stands for Righteousness and Approval Complicate Everything.
(Continued from last month’s column)
The RACE Trap is the emotional need to be right, or need for approval from somebody else. It distorts or interferes with your creative mental output and provides results and consequences other than optimal.
It also creates unpleasant and destructive emotional responses. Remember how it works:
Paradigm shift: Stimulus >>> Belief System >>> Response.
If I say you have a big nose (stimulus), your need for approval says “disapproved” and your need to be right says “I’m not OK.” You feel bad (response).
If I say you’re smart (stimulus), need for approval says, “approved” and your need to be right says, “I’m OK.” You feel good (response).
The good news is, when you recognize it’s your needs that cause the bad feelings, and not the stimulus, you have the power to do something about it.
The better news is the needs are part of the BS (Belief Systems) you accepted unconsciously throughout your life, and you can change them. Wow!
Where did these silly BS come from? To get almost biblical, I call them the “BEGETs”. (I said ALMOST biblical). Some examples:
PARENTS: BE obedient to GET love.
FAMILY: BE nice to GET approval
SCHOOL: BE alike to GET friends.
CHURCH: BE good to GET saved.
SOCIETY: BE quiet to GET along.
MEDIA: BE lieve to GET in line.
FAIRY TALES: BE beautiful to GET a prince
…Or the converse, BE a prince to GET the girl
Are you BEginning to GET the idea?
Surely you can think of other sources that have had their influence. That’s a lot of programming to counter, but it’s a worthy goal on the way to the ultimate BEGET:
You can BE free and GET a life!
There’s a lot you can do to counteract the RACE Trap programming, and this time we’ll start with the easiest—talk back.
In the computer world, we have a saying, “garbage in, garbage out,” and this also applies to Belief Systems. We can expand it to, “spot incoming garbage, and no garbage out.” Counter the limiting belief on the spot, and it doesn’t find a home in your consciousness.
When the TV commercial tells you you’re not OK because you don’t use the right detergent just talk back to the TV, or even better, shout, “BELIEF SYSTEM!” Feel free to abbreviate (or substitute).
When the professor insists that you are somehow responsible for somebody else’s hurt feelings, let ‘em have it: BELIEF SYSTEM (BS)!
When a religious leader says you’re a guilty sinner and bound to fry in Hell, immediately remind yourself: BELIEF SYSTEM!
Same thing if somebody says you’re going to go to Heaven. It’s still BELIEF SYSTEM (BS)!
When the newspaper tells you …uh… anything: BELIEF SYSTEM (BS).
When somebody in a white lab coat announces that chocolate is bad for you: BELIEF SYSTEM (BS). Wait…That’s not good enough. Shoot him!
And when I say you can break out of the RACE trap so you can be in charge of your thinking to create a life of peace, love and happiness, that’s a BELIEF SYSTEM (BS), too.
Which BS appeals to you most?
You are free to choose.
BELIEF SYSTEM (BS).
Gregg Sanderson is author of Spirit With A Smile, The World According To BOB. He is a licensed practitioner in the Centers for Spiritual Living, and a Certified Trainer for Infinite Possibilities. His earlier books were, What Ever Happened To Happily Ever After? and Split Happens—Easing The Pain Of Divorce. His latest project is the New Thought Global Network, where subscribers can enjoy the best in New Thought presentations from anywhere at any time. You can see it at www.newthoughtglobal.org