“I travel a lot and I hate having my life interrupted by routine!” – Caskie Stinnett
When should you put a wrench in your routine – the routine that
ultimately creates your lifestyle? The answer is simple – all the time
and more than once. Every person’s routine is a bit different, but the
importance of stepping outside our cycle of common activities is
important to personal growth and intellectual development.
You essentially have two types of routine oriented lifestyles – you may epitomize one or you may fall somewhere in between.
The Serious Routine Lifestyle
I know people on both ends of the spectrum. Some that have strict
routines and feel uncomfortable any time it is disrupted. Often times
it will prohibit people from partaking in certain activities because
they are unwilling to stray from their routine and their intended plan
for that day.
The Wanderer Routine Lifestyle
I also know some people that don’t quite have a routine. They will
do anything at the drop of a hat and usually not think twice about
committing a night or a day to something completely unplanned or new to
them.
Now, I’m not saying one is better than the other – and that one will
lead to success over another. What I am saying, is that over the course
of time we develop behaviors that translate into specific patterns.
Naturally, what happens is that we create metaphorical fences around our
worlds both physically and mentally. To grow and develop, stepping
over those naturally created boundaries is often the catalyst to success
and achieving greatness.
So How Do You ‘Break’ Your Lifestyle?
First, you must accurately understand the composition of your
identity. I’ll use myself as an example. For the longest time, I’d
smoke cigarettes while spending time out at bars or whenever I would
casually drink. But if you asked me whether or not I was a smoker, or
if I smoked – I’d tell you NO. I’m not a smoker! I wanted the identity
of someone that wasn’t a smoker, but my actions weren’t consistent with
my self-proclaimed identity. Based on your habits that form your
routines, you may have to take mental inventory by wading into the
waters of what you have pushed under the rug, or prefer not to face
because you know it’s not who you truly want to be.
After realizing that I don’t want all the negative things that
smoking brought along with it – I realized that it takes more than one
time of doing or not doing something to make that part of who you are.
Now, it has been several months since I’ve had a cigarette and now I can
easily turn one down without thinking twice about it. So I didn’t just
cross hypothetical boundary once or twice, I did it repeatedly over the
course of months.
Back to Your Routine and Your Lifestyle
So instead of turning down smoking just once, I’ve done it time after
time and it’s shifted my thinking about it and it’s given me some
perspective. Because I did it repeatedly, I was able to learn from it
and apply that type of thinking to other areas of my life.
So, when you put the wrench in your routine, don’t do it just once.
Try it for a week, or try it for a month. Getting in good physical shape
and working out is a good example. If you are in terrible shape, your
first workout isn’t going to be pretty and your body may feel very sore
over the course of the next couple days. But, workout for a week, then a
month, then two months – then see how your attitude, your body, and
your perspective has changed about working out.
Leverage What You’ve Learned
So you’ve worked out for a couple months – isn’t it amazing how you have changed, not only physically, but mentally as well?
Whether you are a Serious Routiner or if you are a Wanderer – put
some thought into your particular lifestyle and the choices you make.
Are all of your actions similar to that of the day before, the week
before, the year before?
If you are Serious Routine guy (or gal!) – have you stepped out of
your routine to spark your thoughts and your perspective? Have you
introduced anything new into your life recently? Bust up that routine
and you’ll undoubtedly be glad you did!
If you are Wanderer gal (or guy) – try building in some structure
into your life. Don’t just make decisions on a whim all the time. Get
off of other peoples’ agendas. I know some wanderers myself – and they
tend to struggle with gaining traction on their careers, or getting
healthy, or staying organized, etc. So spend a week and bust through a
book. Take a 15-minute walk every day for not just a couple days – do
it for a month. Sometimes slowing down our lives can offer up some
great time to reflect and refocus.
The Bottom line
It’s nearly impossible to avoid creating these hypothetical fences –
because let’s face it, life is busy and life can get hectic. Sometimes
we juggle too many things at once and we have little time to step away
from everything. When this happens, it’s time to bust that routine.
Once you bust up the routine, you will naturally gain perspective and
be more conscious of either your Serious Routine or your Wanderer
lifestyle – or wherever you stand in the midst of those two.
Remember, a greater accumulation of diverse life experiences amounts
to greater perspective and ultimately the allowance for your ideal
lifestyle to surface.
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