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It’s early in the morning, and I’m standing in front of the bathroom sink. I’m surrounded by the various pills, crèmes, powders and miscellaneous things that sometime in my life I decided were necessary to start my day. I apply the final layer of moisturizer, and I look in the mirror and wonder “Did I use my asthma inhaler yet?”
Most people think of me as an incredibly organized peron. I put up a good front. Really, the only things that keep me on track are obsessive list making, and organizing my drawers and items in a way that I can habitually do things in a row – first, the inhaler, then the vitamins, then the crèmes. Oh, and brushing my teeth. That’s last. So what happens when those things on my daily to-do list become so habitual that I’m not even aware whether or not I’ve done them?
For the month of January, I’ve been participating in the NY Times Mindfulness Challenge. It’s brought me back to thinking about the power of habitual behavior. Why does it matter? Why do we need it to function? How do habits contain and shape us? What happens when we want to change them?
In working on creating some new healthy work habits for myself, I’ve decided to give myself a 21 day writing challenge. Each day I’ll talk a bit about habits and the safety and containment they provide. I’ll give you some tidbits on how the Alexander Technique can help you change them, if you want to. For me, this is going out on a bit of limb. As you know, it’s my habit to to post things no more than once a month or so. Working daily is going to be a challenge.
If you want to read along with me, you’ll have to follow along in one of 3 places:
My Website blog section - https://www.robbinlmarcus.com/blog/ (you're here right now)
My Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/AlexanderTDecatur/
OR, you can sign up to be on a special list to receive these blasts in your email daily.
Most people think of me as an incredibly organized peron. I put up a good front. Really, the only things that keep me on track are obsessive list making, and organizing my drawers and items in a way that I can habitually do things in a row – first, the inhaler, then the vitamins, then the crèmes. Oh, and brushing my teeth. That’s last. So what happens when those things on my daily to-do list become so habitual that I’m not even aware whether or not I’ve done them?
For the month of January, I’ve been participating in the NY Times Mindfulness Challenge. It’s brought me back to thinking about the power of habitual behavior. Why does it matter? Why do we need it to function? How do habits contain and shape us? What happens when we want to change them?
In working on creating some new healthy work habits for myself, I’ve decided to give myself a 21 day writing challenge. Each day I’ll talk a bit about habits and the safety and containment they provide. I’ll give you some tidbits on how the Alexander Technique can help you change them, if you want to. For me, this is going out on a bit of limb. As you know, it’s my habit to to post things no more than once a month or so. Working daily is going to be a challenge.
If you want to read along with me, you’ll have to follow along in one of 3 places:
My Website blog section - https://www.robbinlmarcus.com/blog/ (you're here right now)
My Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/AlexanderTDecatur/
OR, you can sign up to be on a special list to receive these blasts in your email daily.
I’ll leave you with a brief exercise I’ve borrowed from the NY Times Challenge.
Instead of habitually brushing your teeth, try doing it standing on one leg. Then close your eyes, and focus all your attention on the actions of balancing and brushing.
Good luck!
Instead of habitually brushing your teeth, try doing it standing on one leg. Then close your eyes, and focus all your attention on the actions of balancing and brushing.
Good luck!
3 Comments
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