Savoir Vivre Vignette
We all have mental blocks. We have all convinced ourselves that there are some things that we just can not do. These mental block often have their origin in our childhoods. We attempted to do something, failed, and then, for our own protection (against the pain we felt because we failed,) we have convinced ourselves that we will never be able to do whatever it was.
I spend a lot of time helping retreatants get rid of mental blocks (aka limiting beliefs) during my “Your Magical Future” virtual retreats. It is difficult to identify our mental blocks, and even more difficult eradicating them. Certain mental blocks are more common than others. Do you have one or more of the mental blocks listed below?
- We believe that being successful will make us happy. How often do we say to ourselves, “I’ll be happy when I earn $3000/month.” Or, “I’ll be happy when I have lost all this surplus weight.” When we finally attain our objective, we feel content, but only for a short while. Soon we are working towards our next objective. Instead, we should ask ourselves how we can be happy with who we are, what we have and where we are right now.
- We believe that we should be able to cope, on our own, with whatever challenges come our way. We live in a world that requires us to be ever more productive, to get results at all costs, to perform better and better and to compete with each other to get the desired results. Instead, we could turn to our friends for support, we could to learn to ask for help when we need it.
- We believe that change should happen quickly. Fearful of having to cope with change, we do everything we can to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. People who are getting divorced want to be divorced tout de suite, this sometimes causes endless problems later. The people here in the south of France rarely rush into anything. They live by the rule of the quart d’heure Gascon – aka the quart d’heure de politesse. This means you can easily, and are expected to, arrive 15 minutes late, at the earliest. Takes a bit of time getting used to, but after arriving a couple of times on time, just as your hostess is stepping into the shower, you adapt to the rule soon enough.
Now available: Virtual Your Magical Future Wellness Retreats – click on the link to find out more.
Empowering beliefs are ideas that launch us forward and help us to become the person we want to be. Empowering beliefs are freeing, encouraging, and inclusive; they nurture and uplift. When we find ourselves harbouring a limiting belief, we need to replace it with one that cultivates joy. – Laurie Buchanan PhD
If you like this vignette of my life here in Gascony, you can escape to the south of France for a virtual visit by subscribing to my mailing list HERE.
Dr Margaretha Montagu 
For an American, the idea of showing up 15 minutes late is so hard to grasp. I worked for a boss whose mantra was, “If you’re on time, you are late.” Hard to shake, even 5 years later.
Strange how cultures differ. I have heard some of my American friends say that it is impossible to work with the French. I thought it might be because of the 12-14h lunches-with-wine.