When we’re kids, getting dressed is quite an endeavor. First we put on our shirt – one arm, then the other. Then it’s our pants – left leg, then right leg. Then one sock at a time. Then a shoe and another shoe. Forget about accessories – a belt could take forever. Getting dressed is a whole thing. Same with learning to drive. Remember the beginning? First we get in, look for our seat belt. Then find the ignition – put in the key, or now press the button. Put our foot on the brake, then shift, then ease off the brake and apply pressure to the gas pedal. Hands at 10 and two. Hand over hand turns.
But these processes look and feel differently now, right? We just get up and get ready. Or we go somewhere. Without a second thought.
The human mind learns to chunk information so we can engage in greater quantitative and qualitative levels of processes. We can multitask and accomplish way more than just get ourselves dressed and out the door.
But here’s the thing, though habitual patterns serve us, there’s also a cost. They are automatic. We no longer notice how things happen because they just happen. With getting dressed and driving, this is fine.
But what about building our businesses? My assertion is that we have all worn tread marks into our proverbial carpets so deep that sometimes they feel like a rut. Don’t feel bad. I’ve got good news. First, this is super normal – it’s what we humans do. All of us. Second, there’s a solution.
Mix it up! Do something different. Get uncomfortable. You’ve always done things a certain way? Great. But if we do what we’ve done we’re gonna get what we’ve got. We all know what reasonable results look like. The game I invite us to play, is to shoot for unreasonable results. The kind of results that would blow your mind and put a spring in your step. And unreasonable results require unreasonable action.
Get out of your comfort zone. Because that’s where possibility lives.
Imagine brushing your teeth with your opposite hand. It’s going to be awkward and clumsy at first but research has shown that in brain scans it lights up entirely different areas of the brain.
I’m not actually suggesting that you change your habits of oral hygiene. But I am suggesting that you try something different in your business development.
Again, get out of your comfort zone. You can start by sitting somewhere different in this room. Or creating a 121 with someone that has nothing to do with your business. Invite someone new here to be your guest. Start a conversation in a forum where it wouldn’t have typically occurred to you to talk about your business.
Whatever it is, if it scares you a little bit it may just be a sign that you’re on the right track.
So have some fun, and mix it up.
