I had so many good ideas and thoughts to choose from to share with you this week. They came to me while I was leading a class, sharing a message, working out, walking on the treadmill, or just about to drift off to dreamland at night.
Each time, I told myself, “That one is so good. You will remember it for sure.”
I bet you can’t guess what I am about to say next.
You guessed it.
I couldn’t remember a single one.
I didn’t write any of them down because there was no way I could possibly forget such an amazing thought.
This scenario happens to me all the time. I don’t write things down because I convince myself, “Why would I forget that?” I do this even though my past continually proves that I forget the things I should have written down.
Maybe for you, it isn’t failing to write something down so you will remember it.
Maybe it is holding on to a toxic friendship, repeating the cycle of gaining and losing weight, staying on the roller coaster of a spiraling mind, seeing yourself as the victim in every situation, or one of the many other patterns you continue repeating—even after telling yourself you won’t do it again.
When I look at my habit of not writing down those great thoughts because I am certain I will remember them, it makes me think about all the patterns we repeat in life.
Patterns that, despite what our past has taught us, we somehow believe will change without us doing anything differently.
As long as I keep telling myself I will remember instead of taking a few seconds to write the thought down, nothing changes.
The pattern continues.
My challenge to each of us is to begin creating a pattern interrupt.
Write the thought down.
Set one boundary in the unhealthy friendship.
Step off the mental roller coaster for a moment.
See the victor in yourself instead of the victim—just once.
Practice one healthy habit today.
A pattern interrupt is simply one moment when you choose to do something different from what you have always done.
Interrupting the pattern you dislike and beginning to build the pattern you want starts with one small change.
One small interrupt today may be the beginning of a completely different pattern tomorrow.