“The less routine the more life.” – Amos Bronson Alcott

“I travel a lot and I hate having my life interrupted by routine!” – Caskie Stinnett

When should you put a wrench in your routine – the routine that ultimately creates your lifestyle? The answer is simple – all the time and more than once. Every person’s routine is a bit different, but the importance of stepping outside our cycle of common activities is important to personal growth and intellectual development.

You essentially have two types of routine oriented lifestyles – you may epitomize one or you may fall somewhere in between.

The Serious Routine Lifestyle

I know people on both ends of the spectrum. Some that have strict routines and feel uncomfortable any time it is disrupted. Often times it will prohibit people from partaking in certain activities because they are unwilling to stray from their routine and their intended plan for that day.

The Wanderer Routine Lifestyle

I also know some people that don’t quite have a routine. They will do anything at the drop of a hat and usually not think twice about committing a night or a day to something completely unplanned or new to them.

Now, I’m not saying one is better than the other – and that one will lead to success over another. What I am saying, is that over the course of time we develop behaviors that translate into specific patterns. Naturally, what happens is that we create metaphorical fences around our worlds both physically and mentally. To grow and develop, stepping over those naturally created boundaries is often the catalyst to success and achieving greatness.

So How Do You ‘Break’ Your Lifestyle?

First, you must accurately understand the composition of your identity. I’ll use myself as an example. For the longest time, I’d smoke cigarettes while spending time out at bars or whenever I would casually drink. But if you asked me whether or not I was a smoker, or if I smoked – I’d tell you NO. I’m not a smoker! I wanted the identity of someone that wasn’t a smoker, but my actions weren’t consistent with my self-proclaimed identity. Based on your habits that form your routines, you may have to take mental inventory by wading into the waters of what you have pushed under the rug, or prefer not to face because you know it’s not who you truly want to be.

After realizing that I don’t want all the negative things that smoking brought along with it – I realized that it takes more than one time of doing or not doing something to make that part of who you are. Now, it has been several months since I’ve had a cigarette and now I can easily turn one down without thinking twice about it. So I didn’t just cross hypothetical boundary once or twice, I did it repeatedly over the course of months.

Back to Your Routine and Your Lifestyle

So instead of turning down smoking just once, I’ve done it time after time and it’s shifted my thinking about it and it’s given me some perspective. Because I did it repeatedly, I was able to learn from it and apply that type of thinking to other areas of my life.

So, when you put the wrench in your routine, don’t do it just once. Try it for a week, or try it for a month. Getting in good physical shape and working out is a good example. If you are in terrible shape, your first workout isn’t going to be pretty and your body may feel very sore over the course of the next couple days. But, workout for a week, then a month, then two months – then see how your attitude, your body, and your perspective has changed about working out.

Leverage What You’ve Learned

So you’ve worked out for a couple months – isn’t it amazing how you have changed, not only physically, but mentally as well?

Whether you are a Serious Routiner or if you are a Wanderer – put some thought into your particular lifestyle and the choices you make. Are all of your actions similar to that of the day before, the week before, the year before?

If you are Serious Routine guy (or gal!) – have you stepped out of your routine to spark your thoughts and your perspective? Have you introduced anything new into your life recently? Bust up that routine and you’ll undoubtedly be glad you did!

If you are Wanderer gal (or guy) – try building in some structure into your life. Don’t just make decisions on a whim all the time. Get off of other peoples’ agendas. I know some wanderers myself – and they tend to struggle with gaining traction on their careers, or getting healthy, or staying organized, etc. So spend a week and bust through a book. Take a 15-minute walk every day for not just a couple days – do it for a month. Sometimes slowing down our lives can offer up some great time to reflect and refocus.

The Bottom line

It’s nearly impossible to avoid creating these hypothetical fences – because let’s face it, life is busy and life can get hectic. Sometimes we juggle too many things at once and we have little time to step away from everything. When this happens, it’s time to bust that routine.

Once you bust up the routine, you will naturally gain perspective and be more conscious of either your Serious Routine or your Wanderer lifestyle – or wherever you stand in the midst of those two.

Remember, a greater accumulation of diverse life experiences amounts to greater perspective and ultimately the allowance for your ideal lifestyle to surface.

Michael Weaver is a freelance writer and the founder of www.findinspirationtoday.com

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How To Motivate Yourself

Wake Up Your Mornings
We would all like to prolong the time in our beds and linger longer in the shower, but at a certain point, you have to get out the door and on your way to get that paycheck. Here are some ways to make it a little less painful to start another day. I might not convert you to a morning person, but it will make it more tolerable.

Be Prepared
These tips all require you to get ready the night before. Being organized and planning ahead will reduce your stress immensely. You will find you can just roll through the process will no hassle as long as you took action ahead of time. So yes, no matter how tired you are, take about a half an hour to prepare for tomorrow before you fall into bed.

Give yourself extra time
You want to have a cushion of time for unexpected problems. If it is not needed, this time can be used for meditation, reading, playing with your dog, or anything really.

Don’t snooze.
Get right out of the bed as soon as you hear your alarm, or if you wake up reasonably before your alarm. You know it only makes it worse to try to drag it out when you just don’t have time to sleep late.
Use an alarm that works for you. I know some people that need to have several set up strategically around the room to ensure they get out of bed. It also helps if the sound is annoying, but not too annoying. Some can use music, but I find it too soothing to be an effective alarm. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day helps your body get into the routine.

Get Ready
If you shower in the morning, try to reduce the steps you take by using combination products like shampoo plus conditioner. A citrusy or minty shower gel might be a nice perk for your senses. Try using an alarm so you know it is time to get out .If all else fails, you can try showering at night.
Choose what you are wearing the night before. Find a place where you can lay out or hang what you want to wear. Don’t forget to think of shoes and accessories. There won’t be time to find them if you have to look in the morning. Try to streamline your routine and put out the products you will need.

Fuel for your day
Be sure to eat a quick breakfast or grab something to take with you. Have a few easy-to-make breakfasts in mind. Frozen stuff is quick and many products are actually made to be low calorie. Your microwave or toaster can be your best friend. Try shakes, smoothies, breakfast bar, or fruit and yogurt. Even scrambled eggs can be quick. Just save the culinary ordeals for lazy weekend mornings.

Get ready for take-off
Leave your work bag by the door, full of anything you will need and ready to go. This is particularly important if you are working on something in the evening. The last thing you want to do is leave behind something that you were just finishing up. You will feel better if you have everything you will need for the day. This may include things you need to mail, your gym bag, etc.

Make lunch the night before or be sure you have cash. Bringing lunch can save you money and health. Gather everything together the night before so you can just grab it and go. You can invest in a nice bag for your lunch or some reusable containers for things like fruits, nuts, and dressing. If you need to make someone else’s lunch as well, plan accordingly and try to make it easier on yourself by simply making double portions. The key thing is to do it the night before, no matter how tired you are, so it will be done when you wake up.

Cruise control
If you have a commute that you are not fond of, having music you love can make it more relaxing and amusing .Depending on the technology you have at hand, flip through the radio, use your mp3 player, make CDs, or use satellite radio.  If you prefer information or stories instead of music, you can get recorded books from the library or download a podcast to listen to. If you ride a train or bus, you can bring something to read. Make your commuting time worthwhile and you will start to appreciate and maybe even enjoy it.

If you have a favorite drink: coffee, tea, hot chocolate, latte, or juice, find a way to get it at home and bring it in a nice travel cup. If you love your coffee, it is nice to have a coffee maker that goes on timer, so you can wake up to the aroma. Remember to bring your mug home, but have a couple so you can  switch it up or deal if you forget to bring one back home.

These little comforts and organization make a huge difference to your day starting smoothly.  If your morning goes well, you will be more productive and perhaps have some time for play later on in your day.

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Words That Heal and Empower

Our lives are full of things we “should” do but for a range of reasons we don’t do them. Whatever it is – exercise, healthy eating, saving money – most of the time we choose to take the easier road, the road well traveled.

While I’m certainly not immune to this, there are plenty of things I don’t do that I know I should, I feel that understand the why is the first step to making real progress.

1. Being Comfortable (and Lack of a Burning Desire)

It all starts with how we feel about our life. How we feel greatly affects our motivations. Most people are in some form of comfort, but it’s a negative comfort. It’s a comfort where you’re not making progress towards your dreams but you’re not in that much pain either.

Don’t be in this space.

I’ve been comfortable. I live in a great area, there’s food on the table and I have shelter, and it’s this very reason that a bunch of my income dried up over the past couple of years. I’d been making great progress, which was motivating but then de-motivational forces (mainly school) and my own lethargy brought me into a false form of comfort. And now I have to work my way back to where I was.

The best motivators are pain and progress.

When you are in a situation that genuinely hurts you find a solution. It’s not a matter of making excuses, you just do it. And likewise, when you’re making progress the same thing happens, although from a much more positive standpoint. You feel great and the momentum-based achievement keeps you doing the things you should be doing.

But pain will just hurt and progress will be non-existent unless you are inspired or have a burning desire to make a positive change in your life. I have a burning desire to be known as a writer, and as thus I write, I write some more, and then I finish all that writing off with some more writing.

On the other hand I know I should go for more walks, eat more fruit and veggies, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Why don’t I do it? I’m not in a bad enough situation to motivate myself – I’m comfortable – and a although a good walk makes me feel great I rarely feel inspired to go on one.

It’s difficult to transform a “should” into a “must” (as Tony Robbins would put it), but there are a few approaches:

1. Wait till it gets so bad it hurts. This isn’t recommended because pain isn’t always the best motivator (there are exceptions remember) and it’s sort of silly to put yourself in a worse situation to get better.
2. Commit to doing it once. Give it a go. Just once. For ages I knew I should start writing a blog like this, but I put it off. Then I started it, and I loved it. Give it a go.
3. Understand the reason why. Understand why you should be doing something. Understand what you’re missing out on.

2. Distractions

Burning desires aren’t always obvious though. They get drowned out in a sea of distractions – trying to do or consume too much. Minimalism isn’t for everyone, and that’s fine, but at least understand and reaffirm the amazingness of having and doing less. And when I say “do less” I’m not talking about being idle, but cutting down on the quantity of activities you do, so each one can be done with deliberate focus.

Cut out everything in your life that doesn’t fulfill you, giving you room to get back to the basics and do the things that you know you should be doing.

3. Excuses

Excuses are the next hold up. For everyone reason you should do something there are 2 far fetched reasons, that you can easily convince yourself to be true, that you shouldn’t do it. And in my own experience the only effective and long lasting way to get rid of excuses is accountability.

Create a mastermind group or find a friend who has similar goals to remain accountable for your actions. Tynan has shared a twist on this system which is to give your accountability buddy the power to dare you to do something displeasing and vice versa.

4. Confusion

Although, excuses aren’t always just excuses, they may stem from confusion, and that’s a different problem entirely. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with all the things you should be doing and “being busy” is one of the most common, and easy to swallow ruses that few people will fault you on, even when it’s pure crap. And that’s dangerous.

To fight the overwhelm sit back with a pen and paper and write out a clear plan of what you should be doing. Break it down into numbers. If, for example, you know you should be running, write out how many minutes per day you should run, or how far, and how much of it is sprinting or jogging, or just walking.

Tasks appear monumental as a whole, but after breaking them down into bite-sized bits they amazingly fit quite well into your lifestyle even if the task itself hasn’t changed.

5. Misuse of Negativity

Tim Ferriss has discussed pessimism as a productivity system, but a constructive use of negativity goes beyond just productivity. According to The Law of Attraction focusing on negativity will bring that into your life. And to a certain extent I agree.

But negativity can be used constructively as long as you don’t dwell on it. The majority of the time you should focus on what inspires you and your burning desire, but whenever you feel particularly unmotivated, ask yourself “What will happen if I don’t do this?” See an unhealthy you if you don’t go for that run, or an unfulfilled you if you choose not to follow your passion.

6. Money Doesn’t Motivate

In the video below Dan Pink discusses how money is a weak motivator. Anything remotely creative or loosely defined task simply won’t be done better or faster if wads of cash are your driving force.

What does this mean?

Live for something greater than money. Money isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but you need to find a goal or purpose that goes beyond financial success to be persistent, or even to do something well.

7. Lack of Ambition

Everyone has ideas about ambition but, at least in my experience, setting goals that are ambitious are more likely to be acted upon. Going back to that running example, there are countless stories about non-runners who sign up for a marathon months in advanced, and then magically in that time they go from a couch potato to a competitive runner.

Us human folk adapt to the goals we set. When we set a small goal there’s a lack of excitement. Sure, I could set a goal to walk down the street and back, but that’s boring. Make it a 10km jog or 400m sprint though and suddenly it’s something to work towards. There’s a chance of failure so it becomes a gamble.

What is tricky though is setting goals that aren’t too beyond you while remaining ambitious. I’d love to beat Usain Bolt in a 100m dash, and it’d be an ambitious goal, but it’s just not going to happen. Consistent failure to attain an ambitious goal will eventually leave you unmotivated and back in your old routine. Be ambitious in the sense that there’s a chance of failure, but you feel confident of eventual achievement.

8. Uncertainty

And then there’s the last, and perhaps most deadly reason we don’t do things we should do: uncertainty.

If you’re uncertain something will lead to the result you want or expect it can be difficult to commit to it. There’s a constant stream of doubt fuelling excuses and less of a desire to persist (which is one of the secrets of success). To overcome uncertainty model yourself after other people who have achieved what you desire. Read autobiographies and story-driven accounts to understand their mindset, the process they took and the challenges they faced.

David Turnbull is a Guest Blogger For PickTheBrain and is the founder of DavidTurnbull.com.

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