Summary:
The meaning of paradigm shift and the role of a paradigm shift in life
“Small shifts in your thinking, and small changes in your energy, can lead to massive alterations of your end result.” ― Kevin Michel
If you are feeling unhappy or not content with your present life, then it’s probably because your current thought paradigms aren’t serving you. Many people procrastinate on the very things that can make a happy loving life because of paradigms.
“Paradigm” was first coined by physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn to mean, “a fundamental change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline.” Meanwhile, a paradigm shift is a change from one way of thinking to another. It can apply to anything in the world from your job to a new scientific discovery.
A group of mental patterns that result in behaviors or habits can be referred to as a paradigm in a student’s life. We all have it. However, they need not be in harmony with what we might like. Inherently, they are neither good nor bad. Early in life, students pick up paradigms from our parents, instructors, and the culture we grew up in. They dictate how we think regarding money and careers. Health, relationships, and other areas. Generally, it is something everyone has and does but it can be subjective as well.
Paradigms can be expansive or contractive; the former fosters student growth while the latter generates unconsciously ingrained obstacles and hurdles. In other words, some paradigms are a boon and push you forward in life. But some other paradigms are regressive and can keep you stuck. They can prevent you from taking measures that are profitable for you.
You merely need to look at your current affairs to see what paradigms are present in your life as a student and how they are affecting it. What you see on how you exist is the mirror result of paradigms that govern your life. These are thoughts that influence the way you think and consequently the way you live. Hence, some thoughts can lead you to success and some cannot. It may also seem that your dream is not becoming a reality and this is probably because you are not changing your methods of achieving it by being stuck in a counterproductive thought.
But there is hope and good news. Students always have time to improve their mindsets and realize their dreams. What you need is a paradigm shift or in simpler terms, a change in perspective. A house needs a blueprint long before it is constructed. Similarly, a paradigm is a blueprint or plan which leads to specific results in your life. Continuing with the house example, you as the student will first need to update the blueprint if we need to make any changes to the house you are creating. Likewise, shifting your paradigms will also affect your life and get you the results you seek.
A paradigm shift is possible only when you are aware of its existence. Once you recognize it, you have the power to change it. In our daily life, paradigms have been taken for granted and we seldom stop and think about why we do something the way we do it? If you are to look at the major areas of your life like time, money, freedom, health, relationships, and career, you will notice that it is where it is because of some paradigm connected to it.
However, if it hasn’t reached where you’d rather it be, then the paradigms may be limiting and you need to change them for the better. For example, it is a common thought to believe that it is wrong to love money, or that wanting more money makes one look greedy and unspiritual. However, this inaccurate paradigm can prevent you from enjoying greater abundance in life.
Students brains are controlled by paradigms, but once we recognize the paradigms we subscribe to, we recover control. So, the easiest way for growth and success is to break patterns. Just replace the paradigm that isn’t serving your greater good with a new one. This can be as simple as learning a new skill or starting a new hobby.
Always in life, introspection is vital. Only when trying to see why we have reached where we have reached will we be able to identify the paradigms influencing us and take measures to adopt paradigm shifts for the greater good.
