Shake It Up.
Where do you park when you get to work?
The grocery store? Which route do you take home? What billboards do you read, trees do you notice, dogs do you pass? What color are the shutters on the house 3 doors down? What’s sitting in the cupholder of your car? What was your spouse, your kid, your coworker wearing this morning?
So steeped in routine we become that our eyes glaze over and, worse, our hearts and minds too.
Routine is great. The familiar is comforting. But autopilot? That’s a different story.
Not remembering the drive home because you could do it in your sleep. Failing to notice the sunset over the river because you’ve seen it a thousand times. Waking up at the same time, going through the same motions, drinking the same coffee, listening to the same station…
Taking a different drive home won’t change your life. But it will change your view. Parking in a different spot won’t shift your entire thought process. But it will shift your thoughts in just that moment. Noticing the color of your coworker’s clothes won’t transform your mindset, but it will spark an attention to detail that gets lost in the hustle of our day to day grind.
At a time of year where so many are itching to “get back to” their routines after the holiday shuffle or start new routines for new year’s resolutions, it’s the perfect time of year to shake things up.
Rearrange the furniture. Try a new breakfast. Listen to a new podcast. Detour through the neighborhood. Try a new type of food. Attend a different church service.
Do you feel the resistance creeping in? That’s a sign we need it more.
By carefully wiggling those firmly-in-place pieces and routines of our lives, we in turn wiggle loose new thoughts, feelings, ideas, moods, habits, beliefs… all the things our New Year’s Resolutions are made of anyway, right?
As we begin this new year, what would it look like for you to shake things up? Choose one thing to do differently today and watch the rest unfold.