Shake yourself up a little!

I posted the following on my facebook wall this morning, and I thought it was a good topic for a blog:

“Shake yourself up a little!

On weekdays, I usually get up, immediately go for a walk/jog, shower, have a banana and coffee and get to work.

Today I made an omelet instead of my fruit, and I ate that, had coffee and read my emails FIRST, and THEN I went for a run and I went a different route than I have been. Those are all little tiny unimportant changes in my routine, but just doing everything in a different order re-energized me!

We are all creatures of habit because habit is comfortable. Dare yourself to be uncomfortable, just for today!!! (And now I’m going to shower and get dressed, but I’m putting my pants on “wrong” leg first… Whooo hoooo!)”

So why do I think this is worthy of a blog?

• Because it’s a new year, or a new Thursday, or a new whatever which makes it as good a day as any to make changes.
• Because almost everyone goes about their daily routine in the same way every day.
• Because that same routine means that everything is the same about how we do things, and everything is therefore the same about what happens as a result.

Yesterday I was at a company seminar about changing the way we do business to get the results we want that we haven’t been getting.  Doing things differently in an effort to avoid “insanity” isn’t a new concept.  But putting the concept into practice means we have to go outside our comfort levels.  We have to do something we haven’t done before, or we haven’t done in a certain way.  And while it can be uncomfortable, it’s the only way to grow and to change and the only way to get different results.

Does any of what I did this morning matter to anyone but me?  Nope, of course not.  You don’t care that I ran a different route or had a different breakfast or put my pants on right leg first.

But it matters to me.  It matters because it gave me new energy.  It matters because as I jogged past different homes this morning I noticed a few haven’t been shoveled/plowed and if I can contact the owners to see if they need a snowplow referral, perhaps I’ll have a future client.  It matters because when I ran a little later than normal, it was warmer and easier.  It matters because it gave me an idea for a blog.  Bottom line, it matters for me because it was different.

It should matter for everyone else because change is necessary if we don’t want to get stuck in a rut.

So, if you agree with the idea, do something different today.  Just something small.

• If you always use one specific copier at work, use one in a different room.  Maybe you’ll meet new people and maybe you’ll make an important new networking contact.
• If you sit in the same seat at every meeting, sit on the other side of the table, which will force others to shift as well.  Watch how uncomfortable that makes them!
• Have your family all eat in different chairs tonight.
• Instead of coffee, have tea.
• Instead of a warm drink, have a cold one.
• Instead of wearing dress shoes, try cowboy boots.

Do whatever it is that you can think of that will be a bit different.

And then let me know how it felt.