Chaos and Confusion

Welcome back everyone! Last week, we talked about the purpose of change in our life—how we ought to think of it and make the most of it when it comes to us. But what about when we wish to make it happen for ourselves? All of us, I’m sure, have experienced periods in which we badly wanted to change some facet of ourselves. Note that I’m not talking so much about a change in jobs or other circumstances as I am changes in how we live our lives: overcoming a flaw, achieving a long-term goal, or just learning to spend our daily hours a bit better. Habits are powerful things, and unforced change is the hardest kind to maintain.

The biggest deciding factor, I’ve found, is in how we handle chaos. And naturally, one of the biggest deciding factors in how we handle chaos is in how we think about chaos. Put simply, chaos is the natural result of attempting to defy our established patterns. You cannot make any meaningful, long-term change in your habits and behavior without passing through chaos, except perhaps by an act of God. But if you’re planning to follow God, you had better be prepared for chaos in any case.

Normally, as we go throughout our day, we are guided quite comfortably by our subconscious patterns and expectations. Most of you, I’m sure, have a morning routine, and you go through this routine each morning without really thinking about, correct? But when you consciously choose to break that routine (or even modify it) for whatever reason, the natural result of that is disorientation. Our natural reaction to this is usually to resolve the confusion as quickly as possible, often by simply returning to old patterns. To do otherwise is to consciously choose to be uncomfortable. Not an easy thing for anyone.

I recently learned from a friend of mine that a state of confusion actually causes physiological changes in the brain which make it better able to form new neural pathways and learn to think in new ways. This, I think, is probably the most useful way to think about it—that confusion and chaos are simply transitory stages in carving out better habits for yourself. Uncomfortable, yes, but useful in the sheer volume of possibility to which they expose us—much the same as how the pain of exercise is a necessary part in building physical health and strength.

As always, I would tell you that prayer and energy work are the best ways I know to clear physiological stress out of the way and make success as easy as possible for yourself, but in times of chaos, it is also useful to have some kind of milestone in sight. So for those of you who actually are looking to make some change, large or small, in the way you live your life: 40 days. In my experience, that’s how long it generally takes to really cement an internal change. For those of you looking to embark on such a journey, I wish you all the luck in the world.

Have a blessed, wonderful day!

Dr. Alex Loyd