(From Coaching Tips written by Coach Diana Robinson PhD.)
So as to be able to respond swiftly to your intuition and to changes in circumstances, take care not to be bound blindly by your regular routines and habits.
One of the things a coach can often help a client to do is to become more at choice regarding habits and routines of which they are barely aware. Habits are not totally bad. They sometimes enable us to go on “automatic pilot” while doing routine tasks, and so free the mind for more creative thought. Unfortunately they can also narrow our perceptions to a point where we forget to open them up again when the routine task is over. Many writers and philosophers have suggested that society encourages us to go through life semi-asleep. If we can wake up and be alert enough to respond to the impulses and impressions around us then life can become new again, and we improve our chances of responding positively to the unusual, which often disguises new opportunity.
I have had several situations where an impulsive break in routine behavior led to unexpected results that were very helpful to me. This led me to try to figure out what was going on, and what is the secret to being responsive to inner messages without being out-of-control impulsive.
I believe that what is important is to avoid “chaining” our behaviors. By chaining I mean always following behavior A with behavior B and then behavior C. In some of these cases, if I had stuck to my usual routine, instead of being open to spontaneous change, I would have greatly delayed progress on my current projects. When we chain our activities, not only does life become boringly predictable, but also we prevent ourselves from being open to that quiet voice, intuition, sudden impulse, or whatever you choose to call it, that may be based on some awareness of which we are not even fully conscious and which leads to our greater good.
To help clients become aware of their routines, ask them…
How much are you bound by your routines and habits?
Do you leave yourself open to spontaneous moments?
If not, why not? What might happen if you did?
To help them to become more self-aware, suggest that they…
Walk down stairs with the opposite foot forward from usual.
Consciously sit in a different place from usual at the dinner table, in meetings, in restaurants.
Consciously observe and question their routines, changing them where possible just as an exercise in flexibility.