The hardest part of doing something new is, doing something new. Think about it. You drive or walk thesame to work, the same to school, or eat at the same restaurants. Your brain is comfortable with dailyhabits. They are safe. They are simple. They require little thinking so you can get through your day. Thebreadcrumb ah-ha moment I had years ago was to replace my habits with new ones. Here are a fewways I did this that led to new habits and patterns of figuring out how to achieve "stuff"; that takes metoward my passion and love.
Due to a fluke, I changed my routine habit of driving the same way to work on autopilot. I saw the roadworkers down the main road. I did not see the typical flagger with the stop or slow sign that allows oneside of traffic to go more than the other. I panicked and took the first hard right off the main road. Idrove down the street off the main road and saw places I never knew existed. At this time, I had no cluethat one of the places I passed was now a place I stopped at routinely. I take this path to work now sinceit is faster. The problem is that I know have this habit for the past couple of years. I need a reason totake a hard right or left off my usual path. My daughter reminded me of this last evening when I droveto her graduation award ceremony. I said "I go this way because I am comfortable and used to this way."
The first step to changing your habits is to get uncomfortable. You must be aware that you arecomfortable getting uncomfortable. Set the alarm on your phone:
Message: "Walk a new way to work today"; "Stop at a different gas station for your gas and coffee today."; "Try something new for breakfast today.";"Call someone today instead of texting them back."; "Read a book that is the complete opposite of the books you typically read."; & "Walk the dog a different route and observe new people or places along the way."
As I mentioned, when you leave your comfort zone for little things, your brain is forced to think differently. You are more aware and more open to new experiences. Little "new habits"; make it easier to try more recent and extensive things later. Leave this breadcrumb and see what steps you take eachday.
There are times in your life when everyday things become challenging. Get into the mindset of lettingthe challenge take you to new places rather than fighting to maintain the normal. A simple way to dothis is to use Afformations from Noah St. John's book "The Great Little Book of Afformations."; I did not misspell afformation. I did not mean affirmation. Noah St John created this word. I use Afformationsevery day. Here is an example and the difference.
Affirmations: "I am taking on new challenges today."; "I took a new way to work this morning."; "I am not scared to try new things."
Your brain is saying, "No, you didn't! Stop lying. I took the same path to work today and always do."
Afformations: "Why am I taking on new challenges?"; "Why am I driving new ways to work now?"; "Why am I no longer scared to try new things?"
When you ask a question in the GOOGLE search bar, millions of things happen to spit out a bunch of answers.
Try this:
Go to GOOGLE and type in the search bar: "Why am I driving new ways to get to my job?"
One of the responses I received is "Select other route options in MAPS on iPhone."
Your brain is just like GOOGLE. When you ask your conscious mind questions, your subconscious brainsearches for answers. These answers become a part of your subconscious and influence your dailyactions. Here is my real-life example!
I wanted to lose 20 pounds. I had no idea how to do it, but I used Afformations to help. For a month, Isaid, "Why did I lose 20 pounds?"
I did this and forgot about it to see what would happen.Three months later, after I lost 20 pounds, I was shocked. What happened was, for no particular reason,I decided to fast. I did not research fasting, nor did anyone recommend it to me. I had never fastedbefore and knew little about it. One morning I woke up and said, I am going too fast. I researched fastingand decided to make a food window, and I lost 20 pounds after a few months.
My subconscious mind continuously searched for answers to weight loss and provided my conscious brain with the "here is how we are doing it" prompt to my actions.
Afformations take me on all kinds of extraordinary journeys. Because I use Afformations everyday, I have new habits like meditation and intermittent fasting when my subconscious remindsme, I need to stay on track, feel happier due to reading different styles of books, learning newways to be creative, and so on.
Breadcrumb: Create a daily reminder on your phone. "Say 1-2 Afformations right now!"; Just say your Afformations out loud a couple of times and move on. Let your Google brain search for answers and help influence your habits.
My last example of WHY I love using this Breadcrumb!
"Wow, why am I sleeping better and falling asleep easily at night?"
I started this Afformation out loud every day for a few weeks. One night for no reason, I downloaded a book on meditation. I listened and tried the recommendations. I listened to booksand motivational videos discussing ways to get better sleep. I tried many of the interventions. Tothis day, I use a few methods every night and fall asleep and feel amazing in the morning. Again,I was kept from trying meditation or other techniques. My mind was open to fixing my question;the rest was on autopilot.
You may read this post, "Yeah, right!" and move on. I am ok with this. I ask you to do yourself one favor. Before you click off this post, ask yourself this simple question. "Why am Iusing Afformations now to solve my problems?"
Eventually, your brain will help you get past your biased brain and help you act. You may returnto this post or blog, or you will look up the book to learn more about Afformations.
Regardless,the key is to do something different to get the results and “Stuff” you want to get done, DONE!Because right now you are living the definition of INSANITY! Change something today…
Have a Wonderful day!