Life Looks Different From Above or Below The Line

If you are not aware of this concept of ‘Above and Below the Line’ thinking, it means that to you it looks and feels like it is the event that is the source of whatever you are feeling or experiencing. At those times you need to realize that although this may be the truth, there is something better than the truth and that’s the whole truth. 

What I mean is that the “event” is 10% of the source of your experience. The much bigger source of your experience (90%) is your inside reality. This comes from your interpretation of the event and your interpretation of the event is different whether you are operating “above or below the line.”

This means that when an event occurs, you have thoughts about the event and these thoughts dictate your outcome or your interpretation of whether the event was good or bad. 

Event + Thought = Outcome

An example, you are selected to be one of 20 possible people to win a brand new house that is worth $400,000.00. The event is the possibility of winning the house. Your thoughts about this will dictate your enjoyment of the event. 

You have no control over whether you will win or lose the house. What you have control over is whether you enjoy the experience or not.

Another example, you race into the shopping centre at 5:00 pm on a Wednesday evening (Event). You are in a hurry because you have to pick up your daughter from her piano lessons (Event). The shops are very busy at 5:00 pm on a Wednesday evening and you have to line up in a long queue. Whilst in this queue you think, “This is ridiculous. Doesn’t anyone know how much of a hurry I am in?” (Thought). This then equals your outcome which could be, “That was horrible - all those disorganised people. 

The same event you race into the shopping centre at 5:00 pm on a Wednesday evening (Event). You are in a hurry because you have to pick up your daughter from her piano lessons (Event). The shops are very busy at 5:00 pm on a Wednesday evening and you have to line up in a long queue. With a different thought. “All those people are in a hurry like me wanting to pick up their children or get home for dinner. We are all on a last minute rush at the busiest time, how funny are we?” (Thought). This then equals your outcome which is “lesson to be learnt, never race into a shop in a hurry at 5:00 pm at night because everyone else is racing in a hurry as well."

If you were operating below the line you would blame everyone else for their actions and behaviour. When you are operating above the line you would realise that it is your actions and behaviour that have an impact on the event. 

When you take responsibility for your life (operate above the line), this awareness allows you to maintain the power you have to lead, direct and create your own life. With awareness, you can make things better; without awareness, you can’t. It is easier to change your state of mind than it is to change your outside life and when you change your state of mind you will change the experience you have in life.

Reclaim Your Power 

You have the power to live more frequently Above the Line and to only make brief visits Below the Line. 

It can be tough acting “Above The Line”. That’s why the majority don’t do it most of the time. That is why people selling “Magic Bullet” products do so well. You know, the products that promise you will make a heap of money without doing any work? Of course it takes effort and persistence to succeed but that is nowhere as sexy on a sales letter. That’s why so many people get disappointed because they thought they were buying a solution but what they were really buying was hope. They thought by handing over money they could transfer the responsibility for their success to someone else.

Don’t give your power to others. Reclaim your power and accept that if you are to succeed, it is YOUR responsibility. It is up to YOU to implement the programs you are studying. Up to YOU to ask questions of your mentors if you have trouble implementing. Up to YOU to challenge yourself to not act like a victim and look at what you DO have the power to do. 

Can I change?

Can I make dramatic changes in the way I live? Is it possible to change self-defeating thoughts and behaviours that have been my constant companion for as long as I can remember? Can I really do a U-turn and deprogram myself when I’ve never known any other way to think and act? I’ve been depressed (or stubborn, overweight, scared, clumsy, unlucky, or any other descriptor you choose to insert here) my entire life. Is it even feasible or practical for me to contemplate removing these old and familiar ways of being and open myself up to a brand-new me? 

Your beliefs, all of those formless energy patterns that you’ve adopted as your self-image, have the ability to change dramatically and give you the power to conquer unwanted traits, or what you unhappily presume to be your fate.

“Be an inspiration to yourself and
you will be an inspiration to others.”