I was driving to my next appointment with a new Mom. I know I will take this certain road, then exit at point X. I have been using this particular road for many years to go to my centre and am very familiar with it. I was listening to some music and thinking my many thoughts, when I realized I've over-shot my exit point and was driving straight towards the direction of my centre! Old habits!!
Aaargghh. Now I've to to drive on for at least 1.5km before the next U-turn, and from that U-turn, I'll have to drive 2.5 km to reach my intended destination!
Have you ever experience the moments when you were driving somewhere and reached your destination without really remembering what happened, except that there was no accidents involving you? That's the sub-conscious mind guiding you. It's also something called 'Unconscious competency' (one of the 4 stages of Competency)
Of course I was rather upset with myself. Wasted time, because I was not concentrating on the road, not focused! And I allowed my old habits to guide me. Although this particular habit is neither good or bad, it costs me TIME. How many times have we allowed our old habits get in the way of what we really want to achieve?
We want the promotion. We know we need to make the calls. But the habit of procrastination is easier. We want self-improvement. We should read the book, listen to the motivational podcast. But the habit of sitting in front of the TV is easier.
We want better relationships. We know we need to spend time with the people who matters to us. But the habit of accommodating ourselves first (and selfishness) is easier.
We want to be good parents. We want a wonderful relationship with our children. We want our babies to breastfeed, we want them to sleep better. But ......
The good news is - there's always a U-turn in front. It may be very near, or may be a little further away, or may even be quite far ahead. But the U-turn is always there. It's up to us to take the U-turn. And the more U-turns we missed, the longer it'll take us to get to our desired destination.
So, you may not have done what was prescribed for new parents ie:
attend a birthing and breastfeeding class before the delivery of your precious baby,
get as much knowledge as possible on baby's normal behavior, growth and sleep expectations, so that you can make informed decisions
build yourself a strong network of like-minded people
But, it's most likely not too late to do so.
There is a U-turn just ahead. Find the right route.
Here's a free class for you https://www.nurturingparents101.com/bfpreparingforsuccess
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