I’m still working on doing something new every day this year. I don’t succeed every day but it definitely forces me to take a closer look at the choices I make every day.
After all, life is made up of a series of very small choices. Do you want tea or coffee? Do you want to read a book or a magazine? Dr. Martha Beck, a popular life coach, calls this paying attention to your warmer/colder reactions. Remember playing warmer/colder when you were young? Someone would hide something and you would look for it only guided by their telling you if you were getting warmer (and closer to it) or colder (and farther away from it).
So what if we tried living our lives that way? If we based every small decision on what makes us feel warmer, how could we not have joy-filled lives. Dr. Beck uses the example of trim-tabs to illustrate how this method works. Trim-tabs are tiny rudders attached to the back of larger rudders that steer huge ships. The big rudders would snap off if turned directly. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. It takes almost no effort at all. Every life is a series of trim-tab decisions and these decisions steer your life. To quote Dr. Beck, “Making consistent trim-tab choices toward happiness is what steers the mighty ship of your life into exotic ports and safe havens …”.
You can read Dr. Beck’s whole article at http://articles.cnn.com/2009-01-19/living/o.escape.rat.race_1_lab-rats-sheila-addicts?_s=PM:LIVING
