Outside-of-Habit
A Low-Risk Change In Perspective Works Wonders
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
-Rita Mae Brown, in her 1983 book Sudden Death (not Einstein, I found out)
The real key to setting (or re-setting, as the case may be) your business’ compass isn’t reading the exact right stuff or taking the exact right classes or doing the exact right things all the time. (All of which sounds pretty stressful.)
It’s about getting into the habit of thinking about things differently, taking in different perspectives, thinking about them, and then looking at how they might impact your business.
Got it, a habit of doing things outside-of-habit. Check. (a touch of sarcasm there)
Here are some simple ways to re-set your compass and inspire different thinking:
Read an out-of-your-character non-fiction book (I’ve got a few suggestions, some are still on my to-read list, admittedly)
Read fiction (A few suggestions at that same link.)
Take a walk…without headphones
Take a walk…and listen to a different podcast (More suggestions at that same link.)
Take an art class (Here’s the one I’m taking.)
Take a yoga class
Sound scary? Maybe, yes. But none of this is life-threatening, right?!
Worried you’ll be wasting your time? Really though, life’s full of risks…and these are pretty low-risk, right?!
I’m practicing what I’m preaching this month:
I signed up for an art class.
I went out to dinner alone (this is not my usual dinner mode).
Every other day this week when I took my dog for a walk, I left the headphones at home.
Habit mode
I get stuck easily when I’m too much in ‘habit mode’.
You?
After a while, I can’t think outside the box. I’ve got to expose myself to new inspiration which not only helps me personally, but it also helps my business.
What do you do to get yourself thinking outside the box? Comment and share it!
Vive les experiences! (Did you know the Paralympics kicked off this week in Paris?)
Stay tuned,
Julie
If you are new here and want to read more, you can find more at The Idea Compass.
Looking to run some of your own experiments? Well-established freelancing and product platforms are a great place to run them. You can spend more time honing your offer and less time on the nuts and bolts of marketing. I’ve put together a short resource describing how some of the major platforms out there today work.
But before you do that experimenting, give yourself some clear direction! Check out my just-published book on Amazon: Wedge: Define Your Niche. Grow Your Business.
