Order Vs. Possibility

A friend said today: “there is entirely too much symmetry in routine. Create discomfort, disrupt yourself.”

To which my friend and I said, uh huh, sure – but in moderation. Butter in moderation and routine in moderation.

Routine is bliss. Routine allows me to dip slightly into cruise control and coast along parts of my day and automatically do the things that both work and give me pleasure.

For example: my morning routine. I wake up at generally the same time every day. I do the same set of tasks, in the same order, and then to top it all off I eat generally the same breakfast. Yes, every day.

The part that works is the functional part. I do the same set of actions that deliver the same results, which I am extremely satisfied with. There’s pleasure in it.

Some may call it Groundhog Day, I call it ordered bliss. It’s a tried and tested system that works.

In this automatic cruise control state my brain isn’t thinking about which task to do next or putting too much emphasis on what to eat, it’s in a state of unconscious competence. I’m doing things unconsciously and in turn, making myself happy with very little effort.

During this period of unconscious competence, I’m in flow. Things are happening as they normally happen. I have an enjoyable meal. I drink delicious coffee. It’s pure function with a side of pleasure.

But nothing is always and nothing should be unchanging. Moderation, moderation…

When the catalyst comes in or the muse drops by and whispers…. lets do something else. Or, better yet, encourages me to ditch “should” and explore “could” I mostly embrace it.

Alas, out with the orderly and in with possibility.  Possibility is my favourite word now thanks to a certain Jacki Carr. [You should check her out.]

Disrupting ourselves out of cruise control lets new energy in. Energy is: ideas, life, people, environments, sights, sounds, and all. It’s anything new that causes commotion in the status quo.

And there is something courageous about letting in a bit of chaos.

Sure, you won’t know what to expect and yeah, it’s going to be a tad uncomfortable but if you want to tap into your creative self – the one who thinks things and dreams things and most importantly, acts upon ideas – then you gotta shake it up.

In our day to day habits we can find structure and a type of bliss that’s main goal is to deliver the commitments and satisfy every day desires but to discover newness in YOU a little experimentation is deserved.

It’s so cliche to say, but do things that scare you. Hey, I’m doing it right now.

What do you think? Routine rules or disruption in moderation? Share in the comments.

G

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Photo Credit: Stephen Daws