Attitudes for Removing a Lower-Stage Hook and Climbing to a Higher Stage

Last week, I posted some examples of the most common attitudes or beliefs behind the hooks that disrupt your stage climb, by the seven stages. These are a few of your idealattitudes to choose for removing a lower-stage hook in any area of your life and climbing to a higher stage. Tweak them to fit you exactly and then use them as motivators whenever you need to throughout your Stage Climbing process:

  • Stage One―“I am tired of being dependent and relying on others. I now want to begin taking charge of my own life.”
  • Stage Two―“Being excessively self-absorbed, has thus far not gotten me what I thought it would, what I truly wanted or satisfaction around what I have achieved.”
  • Stage Three―“I am ready to start examining the unquestioned rules I have lived by (and/or that I have demanded others live by), and even to consider being more flexible and open to new ideas that are a better fit for me and my life.”
  • Stage Four―“People who won’t accept me for who I am are no longer worth my time and attention. There is much more to life than putting boundless energy into fitting in and/or the hope of getting others to admire or envy, love, and/or approve of me.”
  • Stage Five―“I want to be doing what I love, what makes me feel best about myself, and to feel rewarded internally (as well as externally).”
  • Stage Six―“Life is good; but there is more to life than my own gratification. It’s time to focus on the world that’s larger than myself.”
  • Stage Seven―“On to the next (perhaps even a bigger or more challenging) mission!”

If we think of a computer as a metaphor for the mind, then our beliefs would constitute ouroperating system. It is our beliefs that create anger in us when someone treats us poorly, anxiety when faced with a difficult challenge or depression when we fail at something. A major aspect of the Stage Climbing process is to change the attitudes and beliefs―ones that underlie any unwanted hooks to the lower stages―to beliefs consistent with your target stage. The more you do that, the more your “operating system” will be an indicator of the choices you have made as an adult, rather than  a collection of self-defeating assumptions that may have been with you since before you can even remember.

The best news is that you can pick the beliefs and attitudes