Humans love routines
Humans are creatures of habit. We like to create routines, rituals.
We like to create them and keep them.
Some may but rational, sensible, others may be illogic, unhealthy, or just stupid.
But once a ritual is in place, it’s hard to change them.
And the more rituals we have the harder it is to change any.
The older we get, the more routines we have in place, the more confused, annoyed, and stressed we become if anything changes an inch.
Get used to change
To limit the stress, annoyance, and confusion caused by unrequested changes, one way that can help, is to get used to changing small meaningless rituals.
It does not have to hurt. It does not have to be disruptive.
We need to remember that even though we love to create and maintain rituals, that we can also change them if they do not make sense any longer.
Example of such rituals could be:
- Changing the model or color of your coffee cup in the morning or during the day
- Changing the side you’re wearing your bracelet or watch
- Swap two elements of your morning routine, e.g. breakfast after/before shower
- Use another road to get to work, or another bus, or means of transportation
- You like to drink your tea or coffee at a certain hour, delay by one hour
By making insignificant changes to your daily routine, tweaking slightly your habits, you can become more flexible and appreciate Change.
Make Change fun
Routines are essential for our well being, and rituals can be delightful. But they can at times heavy and not so fun.
By playing around and making the change of habits a game, you give your life a spark of joy at any moment of your day.
It can be shared with your friends, relatives, and become a group challenge or game.
And you can also have a little internal game with yourself that no one will ever know about.