Pattern. The next time the same problem comes up, think pattern. Now the concern is not just that this has happened once, but that a pattern is starting to develop, or already has.

A pattern is a ghost from the past. It cannot help you. The world that generated it no longer exists. Whenever it runs, it draws you into the illusion of that world. If you try to satisfy it, you have accepted that world, and you are in its power, with all its demands, dysfunctions and contradictions. This is the opposite of the freedom you seek.

If you’re working with someone who consistently fails to perform to expectations or deliver what they’re supposed to, then you have a legitimate issue that needs to be resolved. Otherwise, it’s beneficial to give people the benefit of the doubt unless a particular behavior clearly becomes a Pattern.

If you find yourself in a state of continual failure in your personal or business life, you might be blaming it on fate or karma or animal spirits or some other form of magic when the answer is simple math. There’s usually a pattern, but it might be subtle. Don’t stop looking just because you don’t see the pattern in the first seven years.

Think about working → feel bad emotionally → procrastinate as a way to avoid having to feel bad

Once you learn to see this pattern, you won’t be able to unsee it. It’s EVERYWHERE!