Posts Tagged: changing routines

“THE ROUTINES THAT FREE US”

On September 12, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Most of life is routine – dull and grubby, but routine is the momentum that keeps a man going. If you wait for inspiration you’ll be standing on the corner after the parade is a mile down the street.”  (Ben Nicholas.

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/routine.html.)

“Routines are normal, natural, healthy things. Most of us take a shower and brush our teeth every day. That is a good routine. Spiritual disciplines are routines. That is a good thing. But once routines become routine you need to change your routine.”  (Mark Batterson.  Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/routine.html.)

I have always craved routine.  I’ve also always resisted routine.  Why the craving?  Why the resisting?

I crave them because I’ve always suspected that the opposite is not spontaneity, but chaos.  I still suspect that this is true.  I think that Ben Nicholas (in the first quote above) expressed very nicely one of the reasons for routine: It keeps us going.  It provides momentum.

Too often, I sit around waiting for momentum and inspiration to hit me.  They won’t.  Momentum is sustained by action, and inspiration often comes to me (when it shows up at all) in the midst of my routines.  And when inspiration and momentum get married, they often produce some really nice children.

Why do I resist routine?  Probably, I resist them for several (non)reasons.  Laziness comes to mind immediately.  Then too, there is the fear that the quote above (from Mark Batterson) encapsulates: I am afraid of my routines becoming routine.

And, of course, that is indeed a possibility.  However, a possibility is not the same thing as an inevitability.  Routines can be put to one side for a little while.  They can be supplemented.  I can substitute one good routine for another good routine.  Routines don’t have to become routine.

Some of the most creative, spontaneous, fun people I have known have also been people who greatly valued their routine.  They had a routine, but the routine did not have them.

I want to conclude these musings with someone else’s musings.  The following is from the site http://www.sixfiguresunder.com/powerful-routines/, and nicely sums up both the dangers and opportunities of routines.

“ ‘You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.  The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.’  – John C. Maxwell

We all have habits, for better or for worse.  I’ve noticed that some of my routines not only make my day smoother and more productive, but also save me time and money.  Other routines or habits do just the opposite.  Building up and improving the productive routines and rooting out the wasteful routines will improve the flow of life and cash.”

Note well!  Improving good routines and grubbing out bad ones doesn’t simply improve cash flow.  Such activities improve the flow of life.  I can’t add much to that!

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