What Gets Repeated Gets Amplified

Image Courtesy of Israel Palacio via Unsplash

I was taking time this morning cooking breakfast. It's one habit that is almost fully on autopilot, so I have capacity to tap into contemplation while chopping dates and simmering oatmeal. What came through this morning? The thought of what gets repeated gets amplified.

Have you noticed your own capacity to repeat habits and patterns, whether beneficial or not so beneficial? Have you stopped to wonder why that is? I'm drawn to a verse from the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna recognizes the capacity for us to operate on autopilot, acting out of conditioning, as if by force rather than free will. And while Krishna responds with reminding Arjuna about the conditioned nature of our existence, I want to dive a little deeper than it's simply lust because honestly, when we repeat leaning into our higher selves connected to the expansive energy of the divine, that pattern also gets repeated and we magically feel carried into new chapters of life. At least, this is my personal experience as I am accepting this new adventure.

What impels us to act even though we desire to chart a different course?

A question arose after a class I offered regarding the impulse to pick up our phones and doomscroll rather than do something productive with our time and energy. In all reality, this impulse arises from social and psychological conditioning. I did respond that these devices, social media, etc. were developed with a desire to induce the brain's tendency for addiction and gambling. There is an anticipatory dopamine rush in the unknown of what we will find. This happens automatically, often before we even become conscious.

Keeping with the phone and social media example, this technology was new, shiny, and offered promises of connection with those who may be far away. That got us hooked. It was a space where we could connect to a degree, but over time, those in control of the alogrithms learned they could occupy attention more by triggering our fight or flight and anger responses. The more inflammatory the post, the greater chance it caught our attention, and that's where the addiction comes in as they have tapped into the unconscious tracts in our brains and triggered us to automatically react before intelligence and conscious thought can arise.

The same goes for conditioning dating back years and how we were trained to respond to life. Some of us are impelled to act through aggression, bullying, pridefulness, and selfishness. Some of us are impelled to act through being nice, being good, keeping everyone else pleased, taking on more than we can realistically handle. These are all conditioned responses to an often chaotic and confusing world that surrounds us. These connections between stimulus and response run deep, therefore the amplification is very high.

So, you may ask, is there any hope for getting out of these automatic responses?

Creating new pathways

The answer is yes, but it does take conscious effort and repetition of the new responses so they can become stronger. If you think about the roots of weeds that have been allowed to deepen and grow, you can understand the force with which we are tackling. It appears to have a great advantage over the little seedling of new habits, thoughts, and patterns. And yet, the more we place our minds, bodies, and spirits in situations where we can repeat the new habits, thoughts, and patterns, that seedling gets nourished more and more, building up greater strength as it grows.

Speaking from my neuroscience background and working with people who have had strokes, it is amazing what progress can be made when someone is forced to use their weak extremity for several hours every day. We would put mittens on the strong extremity and force them to critically think, problem solve, and repeat tasks to create new connections in the brain that bypassed the damaged portions. This ability for our brains to adapt is called neuroplasticity, and we all have that capacity no matter what new pathways we desire to create. It's not a matter of what we want to do, but how consistently we repeat what we desire. We had people 5 years after their strokes make significant gains in 2 weeks worth of intensive practice and repetition. It was truly amazing to see!

Creating new pathways lies at the heart of turning over a new leaf, changing direction, and bringing conscious awareness into what might not be working in our lives so that we can create new habits and attitudes that will help us move in the direction we desire to go. It's so easy to get stuck in old narratives that have played in our heads for so many years, but with conscious effort to compassionately challenge those narratives and plant new narratives in their place, then what we plant will get amplified.

Another question arises, what can we do to help these new narratives and habits stick?

Taking Action

Let's take affirmations as an example for taking action. Yes, repeating affirmations can be helpful, but the repetition needs increase if we aren't consciously working with what we are taking in. As I mentioned with regards to those who had strokes, the need to tap into critical thinking, problem solving, and curiosity was equally as critical at cultivating change as the actions we had them performing.

What would happen if we read an affirmation that hit close to home and took 10 minutes to journal about why it resonated and how we can put this affirmation into action in our daily lives? That is what truly amplifies the repetition of the messages we desire to follow.

The same goes for habits that we would like to cultivate. If we try to overpower our old conditioning with brute force and reliance on will power alone, we will end up burning out and giving up. On the other hand, if we connect those new habits to core values and purpose-driven goals, then we have connected the capacity for our brains to anticipate the outcome with greater excitement entering in because we are moving towards meaningful outcomes. This mood offers hope and determination to keep stepping forward even when those old narratives and habits try to creep in. Repeating our why, reconnecting to our purpose, and digging deep into our core values can support forward progress in ways that brute force cannot.

Bringing Conscious Awareness Back Online

One key factor in amplifying what we want to repeat is consciously tapping into awareness through pausing and becoming curious. Do you find yourself picking up the phone? Recognize, this is an automatic reaction built into your brain. Pause, breathe, and ask, is there somewhere else I desire to occupy my time? If you have something in mind and have it readily accessible, that will make it easier. But, by asking ourselves a curious question, our conscious awareness of what we are doing or the thoughts running through our minds allows us to break free from the automatic reactions arising from unconscious thought and actions.

Now, in order to fully bring conscious awareness back on line, we must remember that what we repeat as we wrestle with our unconscious thoughts, habits, and patterns also gets amplified. If we are meeting those parts of ourselves with anger, condemnation, or shame, then those emotions will get amplified. But, if we approach with compassion, forgiveness, and even comedy, then we amplify a more lighthearted response to those parts which allows them to soften back. Essentially, it loosens the soil that the roots have clung to, and the root loses its strength.

What do I mean by comedy? Well, there are a few things that come to mind in this regard. What if we were to label our inner critic with a name and actually begin to have a conversation with that inner critic? What kind of conversation might ensue? One would think we have lost our minds, but when cultivating new thought patterns, behaviors, and actions, we actually do need to lose our conditioned minds and gain clarity of thought through conscious awareness.

Here's a recent conversation that has played out in my own mind as I'm taking a leap of faith and embarking on a new chapter of life.

Inner Critic: What are you thinking??? Have you lost your mind? You aren't ready for this! You know you've tried before, right?

Pretty strong words coming from that inner critic locked into past narratives that kept me small, voiceless, and disempowered. So, what was my consciously aware response?

Awareness entering the conversation: Yes, I have lost my mind. I'm glad you noticed! You know what, though? If I'm losing my mind, it means I'm following my heart, and unlike my mind, my heart has my best interests in mind. So, keep trying to tell me I've lost my mind because I will agree with you, but it's time I follow my heart.

Can you see the comedy in the reframe? Now, not every inner wrestling can be tackled with comedy, but the key point is bringing conscious awareness rooted in heart-centered values, critical thinking, and ultimately leaning into choosing the direction we want to go in life that matters most.

Practical Steps and Reflection Questions

Relabel, reframe, readjust, and repeat. This is the way of taking back control from unconscious reactions and unconscious thoughts keeping us locked in smallness so we can step into inner empowerment, confidence, and forward movement towards coming alive with core values and deeper purpose leading the way.

What would your own conversation with your inner critic look like?

What inner messages or habits do you want to put on your repeat and amplify playlist so they can take root and strengthen?

How can you bring conscious awareness to this desire through getting creative?

Let me know what your thoughts and reflections are! The more we can reflect with one another, the greater opportunity we have to build community and learn from the vast perspectives we each bring to the table.

Wishing you well in all ways!

Stephanie Nartaki Heinhold