Why We Resist Change

I have just returned from a 12-day trip that saw me visiting Toronto, Coral Springs, Fla. and the Bahamas. The exhaustion had caught up with me, since I wasn’t able to do any real cardio on the trip (aside from some yoga stretches).

Now, I’m on my exercise bike along with today’s client files, getting ready for five client calls while getting 90 minutes of cardio and writing this blog—all at the same time.

While I have long multi-tasked, the idea of doing a cardio workout while preparing for client appointments (reading the notes that I send my clients after each call as well as my client’s notes sent in advance of our call) hadn’t dawned on me until now.

This prompts me to wonder: Why don’t we change? Why do we do the same routine things over and over and over?

While routine is a good thing, it can also become our jailor. We bury ourselves in routine so that we can put ourselves into a trance and disconnect from the way we feel. There are times when routine keeps us safely tucked away from the way we feel about things that are simply not working or could be improved, things that we have been doing the same old way that could be done in a more productive way.