One impact of negative social conditioning 

Are you familiar with the tale of two frogs? The story offers a simple metaphor for negative social conditioning, and who hasn’t encountered THAT along the way?! Here's my rendition of the tale:

Once, there were two frogs. 
One frog was very curious. 
The other frog?... not so much. 
The curious frog loved to explore and experiment. This frog wasn't afraid to take calculated risks.
The other frog? Again, not so much. The not-so-curious frog preferred to lay around on a lily pad in the pond that he was born in— all day, every day.
One day curious frog was able to talk lily pad frog out for some exploration to a nearby farm. Soon, both frogs ended up in a pot of water... on a stove... in the farmer's house.
Both frogs were content, at first, though the water in the pot was nothing like the water from whence they came.
This feeling of contentment did not last long for the curious frog.
The temperature in the pot was slowly rising.
The curious frog wondered why the feeling of discontentment and discomfort.
The lily pad frog? This frog was so disinterested in everything that the change in temperature was ignored.
In the effort to find out the why of these feelings, curious frog jumped out of the pot and saw what was causing the water to heat up.
Curious frog stayed out of the pot and went on to have a very fulfilling life.
Lily pad frog? Not so much.

Sure, the age-old proverb exists that "curiosity killed the cat.” The rejoinder is that “satisfaction brought it back.” The addition of the rejoinder may well indicate that the risk would lead to resurrection.  Curiosity can = risk.  Risk can = satisfaction.  Hmmm.  Interesting.  Looking to resurrect your life?

Negative social conditioning can be seen as our adherence to any beliefs that don’t serve what’s possible for us. These beliefs come from family, peers, community, colleagues, institutions, and society in general. Ultimately, this conditioning or learning comes from our agreements and choices. The super stellar news is that we can unlearn any that don’t serve Self and others at any time!

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t found their Self in hot water at one time or another. What might the slowly boiling water be in your life?

A job you detest? 
An unhealthy relationship? 
Subscribing to someone else's belief?
Living in an environment that doesn't really fit you?
An imbalance of some kind?  
A blind spot? 

What might it take to get out of the proverbial pot alive and go on to thrive? Actively answering this question is what’s possible when we commit to working through something while experiencing the process as play.

If you'd like to read more about the concept of social conditioning, check out the book Virus of the Mind by Richard Brodie.