Unintentional programming

This is something that we do often and often realize the wrong results from it. It happened to me this morning in a very obvious way and I’m sure it continues to happen in ways I don’t even realize.

I’m driving this morning to take my son and a few of his buddies to golf lessons. It’s a new golf course about 20 minutes away. I generally know the area where it’s located, but am excited to use my new Garmin to take me there.

Before we leave, I program the address that I find on the return envelope and off we go. It starts taking me on some major freeways and then on some back roads. When we arrive at our destination, I realize that we are at a community center and not a golf course. I pull over in a parking lot to look at everything that I brought with me.

Soon I realize that there was no mailing list or address included for the actual golf course, just the mailing address for the parks/recreation center for this city. And this department is located at the community center it brought me to.

I call the golf course and explain the mix-up asking to direct me to the right place. I’m in the right city, just need to find the course. He starts talking about roads I don’t know about and he doesn’t know the roads I’m talking about. Soon I hang up in frustration. Next, I call my husband at work to direct me, but he’s not available. So I go to my backup. I turn off the GPS and tap into my intuitive GPS. Eventually I get us there, unfortunately a little late and a little frustrated.

The way home I discovered a much simpler, easier and more efficient route.

A way for me to let go of this frustrating experience was to turn this experience into a fascinating lesson learned. What can I/we learn from this, I kept asking. The answer came with the idea of unintentional programming.

It wasn’t the GPS’s fault and it’s not that I’m against using one. I had programmed in the information and it took me directly to where I had asked it to go. It was my fault for not taking the time to make sure that what I was programming into it is really where I wanted to go.

I had assumed that I received information for the program that the only addresses listed on the information was the one that I needed. I assumed it was the same place I needed to go. I trusted in the system – the GPS – to get me there even though it was taking me a different way.

This is good and we want to be able to trust in new ways to get us to our destinations in life. IF we first take the time to make sure that the end result is really the end result we want.

Let’s take another example of losing weight with this analogy. Say I want to lose 40 pounds. I can see the end result of me looking and feeling better after I’ve lost the weight. So I program into the GPS, the universe, that I want to lose 40 pounds. The GPS will respond to that and focus on) I want (it hasn’t happened yet); 2) lose (the negative); 3) 40 pounds (a number). I have good intentions on what I’m programming into it and I see the result, but if I let it lead me to where I want to go, it will focus on the three aspects I explained and could never get me to my end result.

Instead, if I take more time to really think about the end result and what that looks, feels, smells and sounds like. Then I might program something different into the GPS, the universe, that could take me a different place. I program in that “I am healthy, feeling and looking my best. I am eating great, exercising and doing everything I need to be my ideal weight.” The GPS will respond to that and focus on) I am (as if it is happening); 2) healthy, eating great, exercising (positive attributes); 3) ideal weight (not a specific number but end result).

Again, the GPS will bring us what we program into it; this example would bring us a different result. Different directions, turns and options will come to us than the one originally programmed.

So the next time I use the GPS, I am going to be more intentional. I’m not going to take for granted that just because it’s a technological advancement that it will bring me to the exact place I want to go. When I set my intention, tap into my intuition and clarify my destination, this will ensure the alignment I need to effortlessly arrive to the next part of my journey.