Do you have habits that keep you on the same track all….the….time…?
I do. Now there is a fab book called The Power of Habit (which I will talk about another time) by Charles Duhigg. In this instance though, I am talking about small habits that keep us from good change, the ones that mean we always pick the same food at the supermarket, the same dinner routine, the same seats around the table, the same colour of lipstick…
I always used the same eyeliner. For years. My eyes have a slight allergy to whatever active ingredients are in them…even those touted as being good for sensitive people and all natural. It’s just a bit of trial and error involved….anyway….as the story goes, this one particular day I couldn’t find my regular eyeliner and I had a need for some. Dilemma right?
I had been seeing this new fangled liquid eyeliner being used all over the place – had tried it once…oh about 10 years ago, no luck so that was out. So I opted for a brand I have used before and off I went. Until I opened the packaging and tried to apply said eyeliner (stay with me here, this is not a makeup lesson) did I discover it was a …dum dum duuuummmmm….liquid eyeliner!
I had no choice but to stumble through, using the car mirror and a wad of tissues (just in case) and you will never guess what (or maybe you will if you are catching the vibe…or looked ahead…I’ll forgive you this is a long winded post…)
I LOVED IT!
Now that’s a habit of a makeup wearing girl’s lifetime changed…right there…nice fine line, great colour options, stayability…oh the joy!
What is my point…oh yes…the serendipity of new. Our brains love the challenge of new, deep down inside, in the parts that crave new neural connections. But we, our rational, thinking, acting selves prefer the known. Oh what is a fully evolved human to do?
It’s about balance. New when there is no stress, new when there is time for play, new when there is nothing at stake (OK so in my case, the new was kinda a mistake, and there was lots at stake because I could have turned up at that meeting looking like a panda bear…but luckily I didn’t!). Keep your habits, and we will talk about them another time. Habits are a great way of saving brain energy for the more important things in life like creating and playing and inventing new stuff…
But remember to inject some new, shake things up when the stakes are low, break a tired old routine and give your brain a zing.