I get it. You like being a creature of habit. That's become a way of being for us. It's everywhere we look in everything we do. However, too much routine creates rigidity in the mind which in turn creates inflexibility in the body. All of this leads to ill-health physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually both personally AND professionally. It is the openness to change that leads us into growth.
So tell me if this feels a bit like your life. You awake in the morning and get ready for work with the same routines. You have these routines down so tightly that there's actually no time for any deviation so god forbid your child hits you up with a surprise permission slip that needs to be signed or a baked good you're supposed to bring to school that day. In fact, you know exactly how many times you can hit the snooze button before you would be off your ever so tightly managed schedule to get out your door in the morning.
Then, it's off to work. You take the same route to and from work each day by car, train or subway. And, if there's construction or you're detoured, you are totally thrown off in your head projecting how bad your day is now going to be. You stop at the same place EVERY day for coffee and see the same faces. You order the same cup of coffee, fresh juice, smoothie or tea every day too! Lord help the person behind the counter if they didn't make your drink right OR what if they were actually OUT OF YOUR DRINK?!
You get to work and have the same tasks to accomplish unless maybe you're in a creative field an actually get to use your right brain. For the rest of us, it's emails, deadlines and routines. Remember, when your company instituted a new software system or piece of technology. Or, maybe implemented new policies. It was probably painful for those learning to use it and really painful for those trying to get you to use it.
Maybe you go to the gym on your way home... taking the same route to the gym. When you get there, you try to get to the same locker (or pretty close to it). If you take an exercise class or yoga, you gravitate to classes that provide the same routine over and over. I mean what if you didn't know what yoga pose was coming next??? If you're not taking a class, you probably still have the same routines on the same pieces of equipment.
Isn't this sounding exhausting? And, it's supposedly designed to keep you organized and create less stress in your life right? These are the chains that bind us. This eloquently planned routine to your entire life is keeping you trapped in endless routines that feed the same fears of the mind over and over.
What if you took a different route to work in the morning? What if you had tea instead of coffee? What if you got up earlier and worked out or meditated in the morning? What if you connected with your kids on the way to work instead of getting on your phone for work? What if, what if, what if... all of this creates a contraction in us. You see, when we begin the process to change, our mind is an unwilling participant.
The process of change creates uncertainty, confusion and even conflict at times. It plays on our fears and that's why we resist it and fall back into patterns of behavior that are familiar to us. We go back to what's familiar even when we know it's bringing us harm. It is these patterns of behavior that are creating stress for us and impacting lifestyle choices resulting in chronic illness conditions.
Change is expansive, it's freeing, it's liberating, it's growth, it's transformation. When we are willing to change something no matter how big or small, a world of endless possibilities is open us. When on the journey towards a stress-less lifestyle, endless possibilities are open to us if we're willing to step outside our comfort zone. The only way we grow IS through change.
Today, live on the wild side and change one thing in your life. Share it with me on Facebook or Twitter. Let's chat about the process of change. Tomorrow, repeat.
Go BE Great!