How Does Your Childhood Affect Your Choices Today?

Our childhood affects us in seen and unseen ways. The circumstances in which we were born, how we were raised, how we were disciplined, and what we experienced during those early years shapes how we see the world—and essentially how we live our lives.

From a work perspective, our childhood influences what we do for a living, how we approach our work, and how we interact with those around us. That old programming runs deep inside our heads. Sometimes it impacts us in awesome ways. Other times, in very screwy ones.

For me, growing up very poor in a small town in Spain and having to mind the family cows in my early childhood affected me in good—and bad—ways. On the positive, it pushed me to work really hard—so I would never be poor again, propelling me to great career accomplishments. But, unfortunately, that drive also turned me into a workaholic.

In addition, when I was eight, my parents left me at a convent—for reasons unknown to me at the time—where I was physically and verbally abused messed with my head in many, MANY ways. It had me constantly worrying too much about what others thought of me, and worse, what they would do to me if they disapproved. This very challenging experience turned me into the perfectionist and people-pleaser.

5 Steps Toward Redirecting Our Childhood Programming

Workaholism, perfectionism, and caring too much about what others think are the traits I have carried with me into adulthood—and the stuff I battle to contain every day.

Our many experiences in childhood affect our inner programming for a long time—and that’s hard to purge. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to pause on a regular basis to assess how our childhood is affecting our feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and choices today.

We can do this by asking ourselves the following questions:

• How is my childhood showing up in my life right now?
• In what ways is it benefitting me?
• How can I maximize those benefits even more? 
• How is it holding me back?
• What can I do right now to let go of any old stuff I am still holding onto? 

Or, You Could Take an Immersive Journey Back to Your Childhood—Like I’m Doing

To help me gain clarity—and to (hopefully) purge some of that old programming, I am embarking on a trip back to my childhood; to that little town in northern Spain and the house where I lived with my best friends—the family’s cows.

And, and for the first time ever, I will be going back to the convent where my parents left me because they couldn’t initially afford to bring me with them to the United States.

This Trip Down Memory Lane Will Be a Challenge

This trip down memory lane comes with so many mixed feelings. I am excited to reconnect with my roots and the beautiful childhood memories I got from my loving cows. But I am also really anxious about all the dark emotions that will surface for me—especially at the convent.

I know that this trip is necessary. Honestly, I still cringe every time I see a nun, or whenever I think of that terrible chapter in my life. I can’t help but hold a grudge.

My goal for this journey—both physical and internal—is to let it go. And, hopefully, to forgive.

Follow Along! Let’s Look for Breakthroughs Together

I invite you to share this experience with me. My hope is that my trip back to my childhood inspires you to go back into yours—and to let go of whatever weighs you down—so you can FLY HIGH!

Follow me on all my social media platforms @flyhighmethod for pictures and videos of my experience.