Change a Routine to Break a Habit

Altering routines involves deliberately breaking habits. As you break a habit, you open yourself to new behavior, new ways of looking at the world. New experience provides new knowledge. To help loosen perception, try these exercises.

1. Do something just for the heck of it. Move all the living room furniture to the middle of the room and leave it there for a few days. Rearrange it again based on feeling. Where does it feel like the sofa should go?

2. Place your left shoe on first for one week, and then place your right shoe on first for four days. Vary the exercise randomly.

3. Drive to work on different routes, at different times.

4. Every day for 20-30 minutes walk around your house or neighborhood guided only by feeling. Don’t censor where you walk by “should’s” and “shouldn’ts.”

5. Pay attention to your activities. You may discover some comfortable habits may be superficial, serving no purpose. You may also realize how habits in behavior create habits in what you perceive. If you want to perceive more, give yourself more options.

One problem you may encounter is thinking you are altering routines when you are only creating larger ones. To correct this, again use feeling.

Read more: Spirit, Guidance, Self-Help, , break habit

Adapted from Toltec Dreaming, by Ken Eagle Feather (Inner Traditions, 2007). Copyright (c) 2007 by Ken Eagle Feather. Reprinted by permission of Inner Traditions.
Adapted from Toltec Dreaming, by Ken Eagle Feather (Inner Traditions, 2007).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Kenneth D.

11:39AM PDT on Mar 19, 2012

thank you

send a green star

Flannel D.

4:46PM PDT on Jul 19, 2011

Hmm I do some of these all the time anyway, mostly because I get bored easily.
I take one of 20 different ways home whenever I drive, especially with passengers, as it not only lets you view different scenery but helps keep drunk friends and new girlfriends of questionable mental/emotional stability from being able to find their way to your house without you. :D

Marta W.

6:29AM PDT on Jul 19, 2011

Thank you for sharing.

Shalvah L.

5:29AM PDT on Jul 19, 2011

I suppose we are creatures of habit, but then change, adventure gives an extra spark, no?

Michele W.

6:15AM PDT on Jul 17, 2011

Thank you

Prochi T.

2:10AM PDT on Jul 17, 2011

I used to do that often but my old man always moaned at the change, so i have stopped.