The “Way It’s Been” Mentality

Over the years many of you have heard me use the phrase “Way It’s Been” as we have discussed the numerous problems plaguing our society. This isn’t a new phrase, however to me it is more than just a phrase.

I believe that most people (*97% or so) allow themselves to fall into what I call the “Way It’s Been Mentality” in regards to everything in their lives. Work, home, driving, politics, religion, sports, travel, etc - all too often people simply accept mediocrity, or they don’t allow themselves to imagine things could possibly be different from how they are currently perceived.

For some reason, the vast majority of people have accepted that long-term belief in something must make it true. The same can be said of widespread belief. If the majority of people believe something, it must be true.

False!

Neither long-term nor widespread belief of something makes it true! Since the beginning of recorded history, we see examples one after another of humans consistently being wrong! Why should things have changed now? Why do we believe that we’ve got it “down” ?! We live on a planet where the single largest thing, the ocean, is vastly unexplored. We live in a Universe that is larger than anything our minds can begin to comprehend and it’s getting bigger every day! To think that we have reached anything near a full understanding of ourselves and our past is grossly ignorant.

To me and many others, the Way It’s Been Mentality is a very dangerous way to live your life. People with the Way It’s Been Mentality don’t question things, they don’t try to better themselves or their way of life and they don’t do society any good – they simply fall into a rut that lasts their entire life. When they wake up, they believe that things are as good as they can get – instead of understanding that one first has to believe that things can get better before they will get better!

There are countless Way It’s Been Mentalities that can invade your life if you aren’t careful. Chances are, you are already victim of this destructive way of thinking in a few aspects of your life and potentially many more. Stop and think – take a good honest look at your life and look for the things that you’ve simply been accepting as the “way it’s always been.” Then use your brain and change those things for the better!

In his brilliant work, Chariots of the Gods, Erich von Daniken writes “we are entitled… to doubt every accepted pattern of thought or working hypothesis, for if existing ideas are not called in question, research is at an end.”

Don’t stay in the rut – talk to your friends, family, colleagues, etc and discuss what is getting you down or holding you back. Brainstorm together by having discussions and talking about ways to improve your issues. It sounds simple and basic yet we fail to do it and instead we take the easier route – accepting and tolerating the way its been.

Once you open your mind to the possibility of change, the possibilities are endless! Give it a try