[colored_box variation=”silver”]Cause: Taking charge and responsibility of ones own situation, well-being and taking responsibly. Example: Even though things were quite challenging at the time – I decided to take one thing at time and just do my best. I eventually worked my way through everything I planned, and managed quite well too. I decided to be happy for the things I could do rather than the things I can’t do.  I could not afford a car, so I decided to bicycle to the gym, and ended up getting into much better shape than I would I had driven a car. Cause is actually taking responsibility for one´s own action and taking self-responsibility.

Effect: (the opposite of Cause in many ways) A state where people “excuse” themselves for being where they are an not being able to move on or past to their desired state. Putting the blame on others or a certain situation often makes excuses. Example: If he did not do that to me things would have been different. It is his fault I am unhappy etc.  If I had a car I could drive to the gym and could exercise. I am fat because I do not own a car.  I could not get things done today because there were far too many people interrupting me. Effect is basically not taking action for ones own wellbeing, and shifting the blame.

The Comfort zone: is maybe best explained as a place/state in-between Cause and Effect. Sometimes a person might take action if and when the feel comfortable about it, being at cause. If they feel uncomfortable with taking action, they might decide to be at Effect. Being in the Comfort zone is more or less a grey area/limbo land. One does not want to challenge oneself unless feeling really sure and comfortable about a situation, or rather certain of the outcome will be a positive one. If the situation is uncertain, my guess is their person decides not to take action or take action with out taking the responsibility. That way if things go bad – they can blame others. They rather blame others than be flexible and change their ways of doing things/their approach. One can say the Comfort zone is not being flexible to do things outside ones comfort zone in order to end up at cause.

I learned some things about myself doing this exercise. Basically I am more aware of I need to be more at cause and not at effect. I guess in many ways I am often in the comfort zone, and will from now on be more aware of I need to be at cause. I learned also about that the senses I use are the same as others, but we might have different internal representations of what we experience, see or do. I must admit I often have been thinking “are we actually seeing the same thing or hearing the same things.. How can you/he/she mean so and so, when we are experiencing the same things?”

I can positively apply the things I have learned with others, at work, with clients etc. I will be more aware of if people are in the cause, effect or comfort zone. If in in the comfort zone – help them figure out what they do when at cause, then help them to understand what they are doing and how – in order to encourage them to take more action more often. (Moving away from the comfort zone to at cause) The same will go for people at effect. Be more aware of what people are using as excuses for being unhappy or feeling stuck. Help them to find out what actions are needed for them to reach their desired state or situation.

I will be more aware of remembering that our internal representations are used in different way, even though the input is the same. [/colored_box]

 

[colored_box variation=”wheat”]Cause – A zone when you are constantly thinking of ways to better yourself and others around you. A zone where you are consciously alert.

Effect – Is almost the same as ‘Comfort Zone’. A plateau zone where you are comfortable with where you are now. This may not necessary be a bad thing, however, it doesn’t help with constant development of YOUR own personal development.

I have a better understanding of what NLP is and how I can use it to better the way I think consciously and subconsciously. I now understand why some of my goals or the goals of my clients are not seen through or completed.

When setting goals, I will be really excited about the goals, but I will come to the point where I become comfortable with the things that I’m doing to achieve my goals, that the goals doesn’t become interesting any more. And this is the point when I’m in the effect zone. I get comfortable. I need to keep on pushing myself when I start getting comfortable with the challenges.

It was really interesting to learn and understand the term perception is projection. I have since used this daily and even did a blog to try and get people to understand this. Not everything you see is what it seems.

I also now understand that the mind does not process negatives. So I am consciously changing the way I speak or the way I speak to my clients.

I am also taking full responsibility of my own actions. It seems we now live in a place where it is easier to blame others for our mishaps. However, if we analyse this properly, it always comes back to the person who is trying to blame others is to be blamed.

As a personal trainer and life coach. I noticed that my clients almost tends to pass their problems of burdens to me. They treat me like I am a magician or some kind of wizard where I can solve all their issues just by waving a magic wand.

However, I now know this isn’t the case. It is my responsibility to guide them in solving their problems or issues, but it is THEIR responsibility to take action and be responsible for their actions![/colored_box]

 

My understanding is that as individuals we all have to take responsibility for our own life situations.  We can also influence and change the situations we find ourselves in.  When we take control of our lives and take direct action to solve problems and stretch ourselves, which will lead to ultimate success, we can say we are in “Cause State”.  However when we fail to take responsibility for our actions, or address issues directly, which in turn creates unhappy circumstances for ourselves, which we blame other for, we can say we are stuck in the “Effect State”.   This really rang true for me when I took part in the cause and effect exercise.  As I looked at the areas of my life where I am currently stuck in effect, it suddenly struck me that in the past when I was successful most of things I had listed on this side were actually on the cause side.  This was a very powerful realisation to me as it is very clear that I had stopped actively trying to find ways of achieving results in these areas of my life, and therefore found myself in unacceptable situations.

I have now looked at these areas in detail and produced an action plan to move back into cause, which in turn has given me a more positive mind set.    I also think that when people remain in their comfort zone within the different areas of life they are more likely to get stuck in effect, and therefore accept that there is nothing they can do to change the circumstances they find themselves in, as I found when undertaking the Cause and Effect exercise.  This concept was reinforced to me when I reflect back on past conversations with friends and work colleagues who expressed they were unhappy with their personal life or their job, but blamed everything and everyone for the situation they found themselves in.  I think a large part of their thinking was due to the fact that they were very much submerged in comfort zone status, and scared to make changes because of fear of the unknown.  But also as this attitude is common place in society they may not have never considered for one minute that they had a responsibility to facilitate change, or even had the ability to do so.

I found the first two sections of the training very interesting as it helped me identify that I have the ability to change my thinking, which in turn can change outcomes into to positives.  Now I have a good understanding of the theory behind what makes people respond in certain ways, I can now see the unlimited possibilities of transforming myself into the person I want to be, and also to live the life I have always wanted.  I understand that the current situation I find myself in is based on my perception of any given situation, which is reassuring as I know this can be changed.  I never realised before that my subconscious mind was so instrumental in shaping so many things in my life, therefore I have a greater awareness of ensuring I feed it with positive thoughts and information.

 

[colored_box variation=”silver”]We can be the cause or we can be the effect. When we are in effect we blame others for the negative experiences that happen to us in our lives. When we are in cause we are in control of our own destiny. When we are in cause we do our best to get things done even through adversity. In effect we blame others or life circumstances for not getting to where we want to be.

We can stay in our own comfort zone when we feel stuck and not in control of our own destiny. We may want to stay safe at effect and not move to cause and take charge of our own lives even if it means moving out of our own comfort zones.

To be honest I learned that I am in cause much of the time now (I never used to be). I try to change things for the better. It’s just that sometimes I need to believe that I can do what I want to do. I tend to put a lot of energy into something at first then my enthusiasm wanes.

I notice people’s excuses not to do something. I also notice how many good things people are doing with their lives. Sometimes people don’t get what they want because of learned negative patterns of behaviour.

I think an understanding of cause and effect is very helpful. I have found the understanding I have gained in my own life to be fascinating. To understand that I can be at cause or effect is an eye-opener.

I can offer what I have learned to others, with their permission, to show them how they may be stuck in their own comfort zone and afraid of taking that first step to move towards the living the lives they want.[/colored_box]