Thursday, February 13, 2014

Paradigm Shifts: Uncomfortable! But Good!



Do you remember when you were writing term papers in college? Remember doing all that research and then sitting there wondering how all this information would become an actual paper that would get you a good grade? You may remember sitting there feeling the discomfort and frustration, not knowing what precisely would be your thesis or what your outline was.Then all of a sudden it would all fall into place…boom, boom, boom! In the end, you’d have a great paper to hand in.
Changing paradigms, changing your irrational beliefs to more rational ones, changing an outdated belief to a new one is the same. It feels uncomfortable for awhile. For a period of time it feels like you don’t know what direction you’re going in. You don’t know how it will all come together. You may feel tempted to abandon it. 

But wait. Sit with the discomfort for just a little while. It will all fall into place as you stay with it…as you try to absorb this new knowledge. 

Let’s say, for example, that you’ve bought into the world view that sex is harmless fun. You’ve always believed that as long as you enjoy it and the other person enjoys it, it’s all good! No harm. No foul. 


All of a sudden someone presents you with a different worldview.

They tell you that sex is sacred.

As they explain what they believe, and why they believe it, your thoughts begin to swirl. Something inside you resonates with what they’ve said. But it feels uncomfortable. It goes against what most of society tells you. 

You do some research. You study the Bible. You look at Scriptures. You ask the opinion of a few people that your respect. You may hear about someone who is attending the Valiant Man studies . You may look at books such as “Risking Intimacy.”  and "The Mystery of Marriage"

Wow, your head is spinning!!

This is all new. 

This is not the way you’ve thought about sex for most of your life. 

What to do! What to do? It feels uncomfortable. It feels like this belief that goes against the current won’t come together in your mind, in your heart.

You stay with the discomfort for a little while. You let this new information gel in your mind. 

It’s a paradigm change. 

It feels confusing. 
 
Then, BOOM! Similar to when you were doing a term paper, all of a sudden it all falls into place. Your mind is opened to a new way of thinking! You see it clearly and now you can’t see how you didn’t see it before!! 

That’s how it is with a paradigm shift. Be prepared to sit with the discomfort as the old belief is released and the new belief takes shape!

1 comment:

  1. A great post by Os Hillman on Paradigm Shifts: http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/changing-our-paradigm-of-experience/

    ReplyDelete