Be a Codebreaker for Your Own Life
- Hannah
- Jul 21
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 11
Transformation begins when you see things differently and rewrite the rules.
Codebreakers of WWII
I am a huge fan of WWII history - especially the women who played so many crucial roles. One of
the most significant roles were the codebreakers at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom. Over 75% of the workers were women. They had a particular knack for breaking codes. Brilliant minds—including Joan Clarke, Mavis Batey, and Alan Turing—worked tirelessly to crack what people believed were unbreakable systems like the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. Their breakthroughs rewrote the rules of warfare, shortened the war by years, changed the course of history but also laid the foundation for better systems like modern computing.
Why are systems important
A system is a patterned way of thinking, feeling, and behaving that shapes our interactions and decisions—often without us realizing it. It is a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done, an interconnected network.
All of us learned responses that kept us safe and ‘loved’ as children and our brain filed it away for quick reference. The brain's sole purpose is to protect us, but in the process, it created systems we still run on today that aren’t always healthy. Children who suffered trauma, neglect, abuse, parentification, enmeshment and more are still operating under the same processes that helped them survive then. This includes beliefs, mindsets, scripts, thoughts, and feedback loops that color our life and impact how we relate to the world around us in the present.
We run on internal systems that run us
The Internal Family Systems (IFS) is one of the most life-changing therapeutic models I have experienced, and it focuses on systems thinking. According to the IFS institute, “IFS is a transformative tool that conceives of every human being as a system of protective and wounded inner parts led by a core Self.” Have you ever had opposing thoughts and feelings about the same event? Or even said “a part of me wishes…”? IFS focuses on us having multiple parts that are doing their best to help you survive, but due to trauma and wounds may be frozen and operating on systems that do not actually help us as adults.
Confused? Don't worry it is not multiple personalities - it is something every human being just is. If you want to explore deeper, check out the IFS Institute or read Dr. Schwartz’ book “No Bad Parts” (that is where I started and then did parts work with my therapist). In the future I plan to share my IFS work and how it helped me - it truly was transforming!
The systems you don’t question are the ones that control you
I didn’t know I was stuck in dysfunctional systems. I kept getting into toxic, abusive, or dishonest relationships and wondering why it kept happening to me. Thinking each time I was “doing better” after finding a “nice guy” and working harder and harder to show how much I loved them only to be hurt again and again. Or to put everything into my work until it became my identity and I was burnt out. My system was programmed to earn love, earn my value, and crave chaos because it was all I had known. And I thrived in it.
In the end it was me - not them…I was choosing the wrong people because that is what my system was used to. I had no boundaries and no self-worth, and I didn’t think it was a pattern I could control - that it was just my life. Have you ever felt the same - that life just keeps putting you through the same thing? Different person, different job - but the same outcome?
Look at the Patterns in Your Own Life
The women and men at Bletchley didn’t look at just one cipher or code by itself - it was layered and partnered with thousands of others in order to see the pattern and the system it was built on. As an analyst myself I layered information from different sources together over a period of time to understand an adversary or system. It wasn’t just one report - it was a history of reporting.
We can do the same to benefit our own lives. Instead of looking at the single situation, you look at the pattern over a period of time. I had to look at my entire life to transform it. It included digging into attachment theory, doing IFS work, learning about codependency, preparing a childhood and adult trauma timeline, and some intense therapy, but once I saw the patterns I couldn’t unsee them. It honestly felt like I broke a code in my own life!!
Don’t judge the system
Before I end, I want to make sure we aren’t judging ourselves harshly. When we examine systems it's not to shame or criticize. That keeps you in the same loop you were in before. Women like Mavis Batey, who helped crack the Italian naval Enigma, spoke about the creative and almost meditative nature of the work. The environment at Bletchley was intense, but breakthroughs often came in moments of quiet insight rather than brute effort. The idea is to be open, willing, curious, compassionate and brave like the men and women were at Bletchley when it comes to looking at systems within us.
Patterns repeat until disrupted
Just like the codebreakers at Bletchley we have the chance to change our lives forever. Your thoughts, fears, and habits aren't random—they're programmed patterns. And patterns repeat until they're disrupted. Your breakthrough can change the course of your life. It will just take a little rewiring.
Spoiler! Next week: 4 Ways to Start Breaking the Code
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