Doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results is one definition for insanity. I believe that makes us all a little crazy! No matter what our daily routine is like we need to shake it up a little if we want to create change in our lives, but it is even more important to look at our lives with new eyes. If I only look up or down, it doesn't matter where I am, I will see only earth or sky. It's the bits in the middle that make the difference! Every day the bits in the middle change.
Many years ago Harvard University did a study with a litter of kittens. Half the litter was put into a room with only vertical stripes and the other half were kept in a room where there were only horizontal stripes. the vertical stripe kittens were not exposed to any horizontal stripes and vice versa. After a few months, the scientists introduced the kittens to the opposite type of stripe by switching their rooms. The kittens were actually unable to see the new direction of stripe because, as the scientists found later, their brains never developed that capacity. Our brains literally won't develop the capacity to see anything new if we don't purposefully expose ourselves to fresh experiences.
By nature, I like routine. Novel experiences are for younger, braver, more glamorous, and maybe better looking people; anyone but me! Then cancer came knocking on my door. Cancer...just the word grabs you by the shoulders (or in my case, the throat) and shakes you until your teeth rattle. There's nothing routine about cancer! The bits in the middle shift into focus, brighter and in Technicolor! Wrapping my head around cancer stretched my mind so that when I finished treatments and my body started to catch up to the idea of being healthy again, I began to move! There are sparkles in my wardrobe now and sparkles in my relationships. I know people who have known me wonder why I've changed. "You were fine the way you were," they say. I no longer want to be "fine." I want to be alive. I want to embrace and enjoy the horizontal and the vertical stripes!
"The best way to predict the future is to create it."
Peter F. Drucker
I've heard about the kitten study! There's also another one that hypothesizes that you can only dream about the things you've seen in reality. One can piece together random excerpts from horror movie characters and create their "own" monster, but it's essentially the same monster in the horror film.
ReplyDeleteI think that just proves, literally, that you can't dream big or want bigger things without first changing your attitude to be acceptant of new things and exposing yourself to new experiences. Especially when going through a rough time - You can't dream of living life unless... well.. you've actually lived life.