Stuck

#0003
Most days when we head out for the daily dog walk we take the same route. My dog sees the same tree’s, pees in the same yards. It becomes route-ine.

Routines are great to help us accomplish tasks and form good habits. Routines are safe, predictable and usually not very stressful. But what happens when we feel “stuck” doing the same things over and over again.

In the first episode of Shrinking, a new series on Apple TV the psychiatrist Jimmy (Jason Segel) is seeing patients. He listens to everyone’s crazy problems and when he asks them how they feel, every one of them says they feel “stuck”. (Shrinking was created by the same team that brought us Ted Lasso so I highly recommend it.)

How do we avoid getting “stuck”?

Even my dog gets bored doing the same things over and over. Yesterday when we started the walk he went in a different direction, we went down some new streets and saw some different trees, pee’ed in some other yards.

Take some time to inventory your routines. What is good about them? What is bad about them? What could make them better? Change it up a bit, take some time to research new exercises for your workout, move your body, change your environment, read a book (or a blog, thank you).

Try taking 5 extra minutes today to evaluate your routines. Being more aware of your routines might be the key to keep you from getting stuck. Or if that doesn’t work — try like a dog — walk in a different direction, see some different trees, but please don’t pee in my yard.

Please share this message with someone who needs to hear it today.