Change it up

Habits can be useful.
Having routines frees us from having to rethink and plan many of our tasks of daily living.
Habits also create ruts and paths in our brain that may not longer serve us,
or reflect how we want to spend our time and energy.

This week, forgo a  habit for a new option.
Drive a different route to the store.
Call instead of sending text.
Try a new recipe.
Shop at an unfamiliar grocery store.
Choose a book in a genre you don’t usually read.
Hand write a note instead of sending an email.
Listen to classical music for 30 minutes, or jazz or blues or zydeco;
  not your usual play list.
Unplug from your devices for an hour in the evening.
Sit outside with your eyes closed for ten minutes and 
  be present with the sounds and smells.
See if you can catch yourself in the brief moment before the habit kicks in,
​and make a different choice.

Jumping out of the ruts in our brains,
finding a different path and outcome,
and seeing other possibilities opens us up to other ways of being in the world.

Despite our best intentions, we rarely make huge changes in our lives.
Many of our decisions and actions are habitual and ingrained.
By taking a few minutes to make a different choice,
see another option,
consider what truly has meaning to us:
We can create the life that reflects our desires, values and best selves.