It’s important to identify and eliminate unconscious habit patterns from our life. These thoughtless modes of action severely limit our experience of life.
An example would be worry. We integrate it into our daily life because we become use to it. We cease to give it conscious attention. People worry throughout their whole lives without giving it any thought at all. It has become so familiar, that it seems second nature. Almost like breathing. But breathing has a vital function. Worry does not.
Another example would be our habit to watch television. We get into the pattern or rut of watching television every night and we don’t give it any conscious thought as to why we do it. If a man or woman who watches five hours of television a night were to think about the impact on his or her life, if he or she devoted just one hour a night to something else, such as music, writing, meditation, yoga, leaning a second language, exercise, or just interacting with their children, they would make the change.
The impact would be huge. But they never give it the thought because it is a habit, a way of life so engrained that the possibility of change does not exist. They don’t have a choice because they haven’t created a choice.
In the movie, The Dead Poets Society, the teacher played by Robin Williams has the boys in his class stand on top of their desks to look at the world from a slightly different perspective. We become so habituated at looking at the world from the same perspective that we don’t even entertain that there is another perspective.
We look at life from the perspective of “our religion,” or “our nation,” or “our culture.” We look at life through the lens of our perception, which is shaped by our past experiences. That is why diversity in the world is so wonderful. It affords us an opportunity to approach life from a different perspective.
When you see diversity, do you see oneness or do you see divisions? Different people see it different ways. Perhaps your viewpoint of fragmentation is just a habit learned from an unconscious society. And your fragmented approach to life gives you a fragmented response. Isn’t that how life works? It’s like a relationship. If your partner approaches you with love, you respond with love. If your partner approaches you with irritation, then your response will be of irritation. As above, so below.
You’ll find this I physics as well. For example, physicist David Bohm pointed out that some limited thinking people might say: “Fragmentation of cities, religions, political systems, conflict in the form of wars, general violence, fratricide, etc, are the reality. Wholeness is only an ideal, toward which we should perhaps strive.” Bohm goes on to say that wholeness is what is real, and that fragmentation is the response of this whole to man’s action. “In other words,” says Bohm, “it is just because reality is whole that man, with his fragmentary approach, will inevitable be answered with a correspondingly fragmentary response.”
Our approaches to life become habitual. Habitual approaches to life give us habitual results of mediocrity, or worse. If we want to improve the results, we have to change our approach. And we can only do this with conscious awareness–examining why we do the things we do. We need to examine how we do the things we do and why we do them that way. Are there other ways of getting the job done? What might the result be with another way?
Do you think about what you eat? Or do you eat what your mom and dad ate? Do you think about fiber, fat, pesticides, additives, and artificial coloring? If not, why not? Are you a creature of habit? If you are, there is a solution and it’s called awareness. It’s your life. Don’t live it on autopilot. Unleash your curiosity.
Examine your whole day to see if there are other ways of approaching it that will be more enjoyable, more productive, healthier, more fulfilling, or more relaxing. Regarding relationships, you might ask yourself how you respond to your partner? Do you listen? Are there ways you could be more available? Are there more ways to express your love?
What’s the first thing you do when you get up? The first priority each morning for some people is hitting the snooze alarm and going back to sleep. There must be a lot of conscious thought in that! Some people make a pot of coffee first thing in the morning. Some people say prayers. Some exercise. Some jump into the shower. Some start worrying.
Here’s what I do: If I see daylight, I thank God for another day of life and I visualize how I want my day to unfold. If I’m feeling groggy, I’ll stand on my head. That way, it gets the blood flowing to my brain. I can think more clearly and it helps me become more alert. It also improves my circulation and it’s beneficial for my eyes.
There is no right or wrong way to start the day. But don’t limit yourself because of habits. Make conscious choices. If how you start your morning no longer works for you, you can change.
My sister gave me a book called How to Think Like Leonard da Vinci
The author of the book, Michael Gelb, noted that “If you are interested in thinking for yourself and freeing your mind from limiting habits and preconceptions, then you are on track for the second principle: Dimostrazione.” Leonardo said “the greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.” The reason for the great deception is that the opinions are formed without critical analysis.
Only you can answer the questions you ask about your life. But the most important point is that you have to ask the questions-test your knowledge. And then not be too stubborn or addicted to the past to make new changes if you do decide that changes would be the best course of action.
As I sit here writing this I am looking at my own daily life. Does my chronically cluttered desk serve me well? No it doesn’t. Most of the time I don’t think about it. I just let things pile up. No reason. Now that I am thinking about it, I have a choice. My choice right now that I am making is to keep it neat. That was easy. The desk looks better already. The problem arises when we don’t think about it.
With some focused attention on any area of your life, you can uncover what the effect or change will be in your life. If that result or change is important to you, then you will have the motivation to make the change in behavior. But if we don’t give it our attention, then we don’t see the payoff. And without a payoff, there is no motivation, and it doesn’t happen.
With attention, we have choices. Without it, we are on autopilot. Sometimes that is OK. But more often than not, we are missing out on some opportunities for a better or more productive life. If that is important to you, then you’ll devote some time and attention to how you live your life, to uncover that part of it that is habitual. And you can then make conscious choices.
