There are elements of THPL that benefit immensely from routine. The habits that we form (routines) can serve as the way to ensure that we stay focused on our goals and objectives. And in our time starved, and very noisy world, routine is of paramount importance. It can make the improbable, mostly possible and this, for sure is a good thing.

The issue though with routine, is that with any activity that is repeated we run the risk of the repeated activity stalling our progress and it becomes like a plateau that we go to – that is a place where we go and get done what is necessary but we do not improve our performance. The first step to address routine is to recognize what is going on – you can do this on your own with measurement or you can use someone externally to watch you or to observe what you are doing. We are looking to find a way to make the brain override the brain’s tendency to adapt and normalize and to do so we need variety in our lives. Newness activates the reward area of the brain and the result is greater happiness and enhanced learning.

The key then is to start the “change” program reasonably and to make small tweaks to your everyday routines. You can stimulate neural circuits by something as simple as driving home by a different route or running your favorite loop in the other direction. And if ever you find yourself traveling then use the opportunity and the newness of the trip to have you do things differently. Minimally it is fun and maximally it makes our version of THPL that much better.

Loving life and my routines....