If you’re going to address a long-standing pattern that gets in the way of you becoming the best version of yourself, you’re going to have to get beyond thinking about it. You’re going to have to get your hands dirty.
The Grind gives us a fantastic opportunity to do just that. Because we experience similar days and situations over and over, we can recognize ruts we fall into and situations that bite us again and again.
But to move beyond insight toward actually making change, we have to get our bodies involved. Unhelpful ideas get lodged in unhealthy habits because humans are embodied creatures. As powerful as our minds are, we can’t think our way out of those habits. Our minds have impressive defenses against change. Instead, we have to engage with practices that can rewire our brains when our minds aren’t looking.
So if we notice that we talk too much because we want to stake out a spot in the group, we can practice asking a question before we offer an opinion. It’s a way to get our bodies involved in the switch from thinking “I have to be seen” to “I’m here to serve others.”
On the flip side, if we tend to hold back or sit skeptically on the sidelines, we can practice being first to volunteer as a way to short-circuit our over-cautiousness. It’s how we can have our mouth overrule the voice that says, “Keep your head down” with a better story like “Contribute to the conversation.”
You know what it feels like once you have these practices embedded in your body. Someone trained as a defensive driver or as an airline pilot doesn’t think about every little step of safely operating a vehicle. They’ve replaced bad habits and ignorance with automatic reactions that keep them and those around them safe. But they had to practice to get to that level of proficiency. They had to get their hands dirty.
Imagine what will happen when you do the same with your habits. Imagine what you will become. We can’t wait.
