You can start to un-gloop the doors of sticky-stuckness by remembering that the payoff for taking a sidelong glance at your preferences might be suddenly being available for a life of freshness and surprise. Letting go of what you think you prefer might allow you to apply for jobs you didn’t imagine you’d ever choose, or bring you the courage to move to a bigger or smaller town even if you’re not entirely sure yet what you prefer. Easing up on preferences can allow for you to adapt to whatever might be on offer, which will allow you to thrive under a variety of circumstances.
How to Get Out of Your Own Way
We can get pretty hot about who we are, who we like, and what we stand for. It’s good to have fire in our bellies. But when we cling to our likes and dislikes, they can become barriers that prevent us from more fully experiencing ourselves, each other, and the ever-changing riot of life. With practice, you can question whether a passionately held desire is actually just a preference. Perhaps one that you can or might want to let go of. When you have the intention to notice preferences without being chained to them, you make yourself available for the dazzling discovery that there might be people, ideas, smells, tastes, and opportunities that could fit you even better. But if you don’t recognize that many things are just preferences, and not critical to your well-being or happiness, you are going to find yourself in hell’s half acre when you discover other people want to be happy in different ways than you do. Or when some of the things you think you need to make you happy are not available.Loosening your hold on preferences can offer a pathway to peace with others who have their own choices, some of which might have the horror factor of not being what you want. Will all this preference-checking be comfortable? Of course not. It will challenge you and your perceptions about yourself, and the world. Hurrah!
The S.T.O.P Practice
You can utilize the S.T.O.P. practice as soon as you feel yourself digging your heels in because you just haveto have things your way, or when you reach out to eat, buy, or do anything without thinking. Take a moment to consider the ramifications of any preferences you exert. Stop. Press pause, just for a moment, to give yourself permission to take a closer look at your dearly held preferences.Take a Breath, and bring your attention to feeling (not just thinking about) the breath as it moves through the body. You can only feel yourself breathing in the here and now. Staying focused on the moving breath can keep your attention from sliding into the gloopy cow paths of habit.Observe. Mindfulness is a way to take the observer stance and notice, among other things, adherence to preferences that starve us of all the wondrous possibilities on offer. As keen observers we can ask: Which thoughts are pushing us around, which emotions are riding piggyback, and how is the body responding to this push-pull menu of unchallenged sameness?Proceed. Notice how taking an intentional gander at your familiar choices offers you a little more space to proceed with greater freedom into the adventure that lies ahead.
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Elaine Smookler October 20, 2020
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Elaine Smookler August 17, 2021
