THIS is Holding You Back In Life - Ego, Identity & Cooke City, MT

On a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, I drove through a little town called Cooke City, Montana. Cooke City reminded me of the nature of ego, and identity, and how we all too often in life define ourselves solely by things that are, by their very definition, NOT us.
In this video we discuss the nature of identity, and how we hold ourselves back simply by the fact that we frequently identify with our experiences. Instead, I talk about how to free yourself from the past and look at the present with new eyes.

[@sherikanman]

I also kind of figured out the ""who we are" outside of the conditioning/programming" Is the observer of the actions caused by that programming. But the thing that's super hilarious is that we then try to program that version of us (the observer) into certain behaviours which adds another layer to the mix lol.
A great way to deal with the existential dread of sentience / any issue that exists in our thoughts, really, is:
1. Acknowledging we are in control of our reactions and,
2. We can be informed of what caused / lead up to those actions to find a solution
But constant / over-monitoring is exhausting and is something I've accidentally done in the last few months. You referencing your video on letting go is super apt in that case because sometimes you have to just remind yourself to just FEEL the discomfort of the whole shebang - the thing that's in your thoughts that you don't like, and just let it wash over you so you can move on. So add a new number
3. Have a letting go strategy to be able to move on from destructive cyclical thought patterns to be able to truly be the driver of the car of your life
and then
4. Don't be afraid of failure, keep trying to be the best you can be
I was weirdly thinking about this subject today and then I see your video haha once again great timing. Thankful as always for you putting out the energy that you do, it's very calming and thought provoking :)

[@hv3485]

Hey Andrew, love your videos man🙏. I watched quite a lot of your videos and some videos of other youtubers and fell down the rabbit hole of spirituality. I am reading Letting Go by david hawkins and i am trying to let go of things, especially from childhood. I just cant seem to bring them up because i think they are stuck deep within my subconsious. Do you have any tips?

[@andrewvanhoff]

I think that simply having the intention is a great start!
For example, in even asking this question, you're showing that you truly have the intention to let go, to understand, to free yourself from the patterns and conditioning.
And that will start to change how you interact with the world. Those old subconscious routines only really exist because we don't question them, right? So when we have the intention to step back and understand those patterns, we've already made the most important step.
But as for how you can specifically get to the heart of those subconscious patterns, I'd suggest some self-inquiry into their source. Generally those challenging childhood experiences or traumas have a story attached to them, and the story gets twisted and interwoven and attached to emotions and fear and ideas and all kinds of junk. And we end up with this huge twisted blockage in our psyche, right?
So I'd suggest, with as little self-judgement as possible, dive into where those patterns of behavior come from, what beliefs they're born out of, and what the deeper sources of those beliefs are.
The key for me has been realizing that letting go is truly all in you. The experiences you're afraid of aren't happening right now. The things that hurt you aren't happening anymore. The things that you can't "let go", aren't actually there. And letting go is simply allowing your psyche to relax and catch up to what's really going on around you, rather than trying to cling to all of this junk from your past and project it onto your current experience.
Really it's about seeing what your mind is trying to "hold" even though it's not actually there, if that makes any sense.
The whole process can definitely feel confusing, but just remember that intention is half the battle. You're already on the path, and that's such an amazing place to be! Give yourself time and understanding will come!

[@JohnDoe-lk3oy]

So the alligator staring at me right now is OK? Because I ahhhhhh