Every day we experience opportunities for growth in our lives. Some of the opportunities we may long for, while others we’d just as soon not encounter.
When we’re provided these choices, we have to decide whether to resist or accept them. A great deal of our harmony and peace of mind depends on which choice we make.
The more I think about this, the more obvious it becomes that every single thing that happens to me offers me something of value. At first, the item or event may not appear to be important. But, if I open and allow myself a moment of consideration, often rewarding things happen.
Here’s one seemingly insignificant example.
I brush my teeth twice a day. Once in the morning and once before I go to bed at night. You may do the same thing.
So, there I am in front of the medicine cabinet. I open it and reach for my toothbrush and tube of toothpaste, which has a flip top. Being a creature of habit, I hold the tube with the label facing me, then find I can’t flip the top open.
This bugs me. I don’t know why, it just does.
So, at least twice a day there is something in my life that is guaranteed to irritate and annoy me.
I’m pretty sure I know what you’re thinking.
When I was a kid, I’d say, “Duh” and follow that with something obvious like, “so reach for the toothpaste and hold it with the label facing away from you (numbskull).”
Problem solved, right?
I have to wonder, what prevents me from executing this very simple solution? I’m pretty sure I know.
Habit.
Reinforcement of the same thing, day after day, until what I choose, becomes second nature to me.
But, is this helpful? Certainly, for me, not always.
My next question is, how many other things in my life are on this kind of auto-pilot?
My answer would have to be, a lot.
It’s fascinating to me that habits hide our power and become a substitute for conscious thought and decision making. Is the world too complicated for us to navigate, so we allow habits to take care of many things for us?
It makes me wonder.
Here’s another example.
Do I really listen to someone’s answer when I ask them, “How are you today” or is this just a habit? Not surprisingly, the answers we’re inclined to give to this question are often as habitual as the question itself.
What if I gave myself a chance to be present when they spoke? What sort of difference would that make in my world…and theirs?
I tested this out recently and discovered it makes a great deal of difference.
When I asked someone how they were, I looked directly at the person and stood still and waited for their answer. Most of the time, it took a minute for the person to realize I was actually waiting for them to respond. Often, they stopped, returned my gaze and appeared to consider their answer for a moment. When they got over their shock, they relaxed and said something about the way they felt, then stopped speaking and looked expectantly in my direction. I took in what they’d said and responded, saying something that I hoped made it obvious I’d heard them and that what they said mattered to me.
Amazingly, when I remembered to do this, I found we formed a real connection. I felt a spark and that felt good to me. And, it made me want to continue exploring other habits of mine and seeing what benefits I might be able to find.
If you do some exploring of your own, please let me know what you discover.
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