Adjusting Your Routines

This morning's guided meditation was covering the process of changing the routines in your daily life. We often find ourselves following the same route daily from navigating the school drop off line after searching for a specific pair of Mario Bros. sunglasses that had to be worn at the vary moment you were walking out of the door, but I digress. We will ride the exact same path to work each day, predictably stopping for two glazed and one chocolate covered donut before you reach the office.

Our routines and normal way of life are comforting. It's predictable and it's all that we know. Our brain wants to protect us from discomfort and changes to our regularly scheduled programming is jarring, but it can be beneficial if the changes are for optimization.

The first team lead I had in real estate spoke about how we can find ourselves in a rut and how that rut is just a coffin with the ends knocked out. A bit graphic, sure, but the imagery holds true. You walk up and down the same path in life and before you know it, the sides are now walls that seem too steep to climb. To avoid that fate, we have to shake things up a bit.

When I find myself going along with the flow almost on auto-pilot, I will take a different way home. Where I would generally take a right, I'll go straight and find another route. It may add a few minutes, but the destination remains the same. Other times, I find an alternate route that helps me avoid traffic! On these detours, I am made aware of the subtleties that go unnoticed and unappreciated on my "normal" trek. I'll see a park that I can take the kids to, or a home with curb appeal that inspires me to clean up the porch at my crib.

In the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, he explains how habits work and how we can change them. Duhigg's Habit Loop starts with the cue or trigger, followed by the Routine or Behavior, and finishes with the Reward. In his book, he details a work scenario where one employee always gets the afternoon tea (reward) at her co-workers desk at the 2pm break time (trigger). Well, this co-worker also loves to bake, and always has snacks on deck. Obviously, the first employee politely eats the sweet treats, and one cookie leads to a brownie, and boom +15lbs.

Employee One realizes the snacks are the problem, but doesn't want to sever her friendship. So, she starts bringing healthier options to work (change the behavior). The 2pm trigger is still there, but she has made adjustments to the habit loop that will be more beneficial AND she still gets her tea (reward).

Let's tie this all together.

We get caught in the rut or routine of life and can benefit from a refresher. When I'm consulting with potential home sellers, I include a staging consultation with my amazing interior designer. She makes her visit to the home and will make small tweaks, adjustments, suggestions, and additions that will completely alter the look and feel of the room!

This is the same with our lives! A small change in our perspective, or normal way of doing things can be the impetus to unlocking the greatness in you. You'll have a Jimmy Neutron brain blast that gives you the solution you needed for a major project!

Here's my challenge to you: Over the next seven days, observe your current routines.

Don't worry about making changes, right now. Just pay attention to what you do in the most repeatable moments like your morning or evening routines, commute to and from work, etc.

Take it a step further and take note of anything that stands out to you. What brings value to you and your life? Is there something that needs more attention? What have you noticed that you never saw before?

To get to our next goal it's likely we have to venture into uncharted territory. You'll have to move away from what's familiar and move confidently into a new arena. Some of our habits aren't serving us, or need to be updated or optimized to maximize their potential for impact.