Day 51 Vote for A Pattern Interrupt

Every action is a vote for who you want to be. What are you voting for today? 🗳️

Welcome to 100 Days to Living Aligned, your daily nudge to make small, intentional choices that build on each other. No overthinking. No waiting. Just single, simple actions, taken one at a time, toward becoming your future self.

Of all the things I wish I didn’t do, taking the bait is (currently) at the top of the list.

It just feel gross, especially when you know you’re better than that. And you know you shouldn’t do it. But there you are, hitting send on an email you know you probably definitely shouldn’t send.

So far, I’ve managed to make myself worth the aggravation for most of my career so that’s not really the issue. The issue is the way I feel after I do that aggravating thing — disappointed in myself and wondering what anyone else on that email will think (because you know it didn’t go to just one person 😫).

So now what?

Now I admit to myself I got got, and use the tools I’ve learned. I get curious about how I’m feeling instead of falling into the swill, which is what I’m used to doing.

If I’m going to create the change I want in my life, I need to make a different choice.

I know there’s a deeper reason underneath why I take that bait, and I also know there’s a positive intention behind it. There’s always a positive intention, otherwise I wouldn’t do it. No one does anything without some kind of payoff.

For most of us, the positive intention is usually safety and protection. I know it usually is for me, and anger is my go-to defense mechanism. Lashing out is my specialty. So the goal is to find an alternative (read “healthier”) way to fulfill that positive intention and feel safe.

Interrupt an old pattern and start creating a new one.

photo credit author