“Some people find it difficult to change. That’s because most people don’t change much. We live routine, patterned lives. We do pretty much the same thing day to day. Moments differ and things come up, but our days are routine and pretty much the same. We stopped playing, dancing, skipping, growing and learning long ago. We ended fascination and being captivated by simple, little, new things, caterpillars and fireflies.

For the most part you and I don’t have to handle difficult survival challenges. We go to work or school, doing the same things, our routines, then coming home, dining, relaxing in the same manner and repeating it again the next day. Even though we may be challenged by circumstances, finances or other people it is all pretty darn similar. We are patterned. We’re known by our habits and our routines. There isn’t much novelty in our lives.

People can find us and count on us because we do the same stuff over and over. Researchers estimate that we think an excess of 60,000 thoughts a day. Some now say 140,000 others disagree. Whether it’s ten thoughts or thousands, most of those are the same thoughts we thought the day before. AND the day before that and before that. This suggests that we aren’t stimulating our brains to think new thoughts and do new things.

Live Life On Your Terms: Create The Life You Want

We aren’t giving it unique problems to solve. We’re patterned and routine by design, so life is easier. Just as the creases in a folded piece of paper make it easier to refold in the same way, our patterns are habits that serve us. These are well worn neural pathways we repeat because it is the path of least resistance. Whatever the reason for their development we engage in reliable healthy behaviors or reliable unhealthy negative ones.

We do whatever we’ve learned to do. The brain is designed this way, so we don’t have to relearn to do mundane things over again. We don’t need to learn how to open a door each time we encounter one. Since most of us haven’t been encouraged to learn to have and develop many new habits as we grow up, we get comfortable and familiar in our routine and stay there. It’s our normal. It’s our baseline. That can become a rut.

We don’t venture out. We limit our options. We don’t color outside the lines. We make fewer choices. We may even get so comfortable we fear doing things we wouldn’t have at one time. We might want to change but because of living in the comfort zone for so long, we aren’t sure how. We have been one way for so long doing something different seems hard. Well, it is and it isn’t that hard. How you think about it determines what it is.

Live Life On Your Terms: Create The Life You Want

To be different, better off and evolve positively, get used to doing something new. That might seem tough because we can’t just sit back and coast as we’ve been doing. It becomes easier to change when we add novelty to our lives and engage in different, healthy behaviors from those we are used to doing. Make doing new things a reliable positive habit and we’ll fear change less and find it gets easier as we go along.

It is only difficult because we rusted. We can remove the rust and polish ourselves up and be like shiny new again. Believe it or not. What is that you don’t like doesn’t have to be. What can be new, positive, different and delightful can become the new way to enjoy life more. As we become used to mixing things up and adding in positive new behaviors it gets easier overall. The more fun you have the more fun you get to have. Get it?

It won’t be difficult after a while because you’ll have made positive changing a reliable habit. It becomes automatic. What do I mean by adding novelty? Novelty is anything new and different to you. Mix things up. Add in some spice. Get accustomed to adding positive changes and you’ll change more easily Develop new, positive, healthy habits by doing things you haven’t done that add positively to you. Become more flexible.

Live Life On Your Terms: Create The Life You Want

I’ve described some things you can do in previous blogs. Great practices for your brain, emotional and physical health include taking up piano or keyboards, violin, and guitar playing, sleight of hand or needle point. Any practice that utilizes refined finger movements is a great exercise for the brain. I’m describing some simple things you can do that improve the way you think and feel. Exercise your mind and body to enjoy more.

Finger exercises, such as touching each fingertip to the thumb quickly and repeatedly, back and forth is useful. These exercises are important. Writing with pen and paper and not on a computer stimulates the brain. As we learn anything new it helps keep the brain young and resilient. We age faster because we stop learning. Dance, sing, skip. Use your non-dominant hand for normal tasks. Eat, shave, write, use your keys, throw a ball etc.

‘Brain Gym’ or ‘cross crawling’, is wonderful too. Contra-lateral movements are ones in which you contact the opposite side of the body with the opposite hand. For example, touch your left knee with your right hand and right knee with your left hand. You can read about it on the internet. I include it in all my programs. Yoga is great for this too. Stand on your head. Pay attention to different things. Go for a blindfolded trust walk.

Live Life On Your Terms: Create The Life You Want

Shut out your sense of sight and just listen. Go a few days without speaking, reading, writing, listening or watching any media. Spend time in nature just being silent. No communicating by looks or gestures. Spend time alone. Dance with abandon. Become the dance. It isn’t about the moves, it’s about the energy you feel. Move the way the energy wants to flow. Shake your body. Arms, hands, legs, feet. Whole body and head.

Do it for 15 minutes. Just shake vigorously without hurting yourself. Then notice how the energy moves. Just notice. Don’t do anything to change it. Allow it. (As with any physical new practice consult your physician first in case you have any restrictions). Go to work, school, home a new way. Take different routes. See new things. Expose yourself to new foods, shows, music, games and reading material. Do different things. New hobbies.

DO things differently. Dress in a different order. Top to bottom or bottom to top. Same with bathing or showering or washing order. Begin differently. Sleep lying with head at foot of bed. Get it? Change your habits and patterns. The goal is to not be afraid of changing but to welcome change. Add novelty into your life so you become accustomed to doing things differently. Our brains crave novelty. They like challenges and newness.

Live Life On Your Terms: Create The Life You Want

While at the same time it runs on doing the same things we’ve learned to do reliably. It’s a pattern maker. A habit generator. It does this to conserve energy, keep you alive and help you to thrive by not having to reinvent the wheel. If, however, we stop doing new things it just runs the old. If there is no new positive input, there is nothing to create. So, it does what it does. You are a learning machine so keep learning and you stay healthier.

You and I have learned many incredible and useful things. You and I live well as a result. We have also learned many useless things, or things that were important for a time in our life which now are no longer as useful. Become more curious as a child is naturally UNTIL trained out of it. Recapture the joy of living, being, learning and doing again. Update and learn new things. Create wonderful new habits.