Routine is one of those two edged swords: routines give us structure, but they can also become boring. Familiarity brings comfort and it brings mindlessness. What started as a sacred practice becomes something we just do without thinking about, and sometimes we may even dread it (because it has lost that spark of meaning that made it special).
But many of us, myself included, need routine in some flavor, to be able to function. If I don't work on building good routines, all my intentions fly out the window and I just flutter around every day and the things that do matter to me never get done (because I completely space out and forget them). Routine helps me build structure that I use to accomplish the things that are important to me.
I feel like there are two hurdles when it comes to resistance and routines. When we first start, we may find ourselves reluctant to do something, because we haven't yet built up the habit of doing it. You are still having to think about the doing of it (not the practice of it, but remembering what you are doing and that you need to do it). This first hurdle is bypassed by time...you just have to stick with it and keep trying and eventually that routine will become a habit and you won't have to think about doing it anymore, it will just be a thing you do.
The second hurdle comes when things start to stagnate. Life is change and change leads to growth. If you don't change and keep doing the same thing every day, you may find that a task you once valued and looked forward to becomes something you drag your feet to do. It no longer brings you the fulfillment that you once found in it, and you may keep poking at it trying to recapture that feeling you used to get...but typically once you hit this stage, you need to shake things up to make them feel meaningful again.
This is where livening up your routine comes in. Whatever your daily routine is, when you start to feel bored by it, take some time to sit down and work out what each part of your routine gives you...and how you can shift it around a little. These shifts need to preserve the heart of the practice, it's the details that can be changed.
Let's say you have the routine of doing a daily draw. And you like that moment of checking in with yourself, or your guides or the divine (however you work with divination). But you've been picking a card a day for years, and you are feeling a bit...repetitive. So you decide to liven things up and alter your practice a bit.
You know you still want to work with divination in some way, but instead of just drawing a card, you may decide you want to work through a challenge (there are a million challenges you can find that include a prompt for every day, so things stay fresh), or maybe you just need to adjust how you think about the card you draw. If you have been drawing a card as an outlook for the day, maybe you want to use your card to tell you what emotions you need to focus on that day, or you can draw a card and use it as a prompt for gratitude practice. You could have fun and draw a card and practice looking for symbols from that card throughout your day. Or maybe you want to use your card as an art inspiration and do something creative that is inspired by the card you drew.
Another simple way to liven up your routine is to change the timing of it. If you have things you do every morning, you could try doing them at lunch time or before bed. If you typically do things in a particular order, you can try different orders. Sometimes you will try something and absolutely hate it...no worries, just change it up again! You might just land on an even better order than when you started...and if you don't, when you come back to your original order, it will feel fresh again and even more comforting because you tried it in ways that didn't work for you.
One very simple way to liven things up is to find an alternate version of the same practice. I do this with my daily affirmations when they start feeling stale. I first start by checking in with the affirmations and making sure they are all still things that I feel are relevant to my life. Then I think about the wording, and often I'll come up with a new way to say what I am wanting to affirm. I also do visualization while I say my affirmations, so I'll change up the way that I'm visualizing the affirmation taking hold (I might visualize drinking a potion representing each affirmation, or putting on an article of ritual clothing, or even the affirmations being on my body as sacred art)
The one main thing you need to remember is that by making a choice and changing up your routine, you are NOT giving up on it or failing at your routine and practice. And not everyone needs to change things up, though I honestly think it's good to do even if you are enjoying your practice....whether the change ends up good or bad, you always learn something! Some people may need to make small changes very regularly, while others can stick with the same thing for a much longer time before it feels stagnant. Trust your instincts and when something feels bland or tedious, think about whether a refresh would help bring your focus back to the practice.
Remember, it's all about creating a meaningful practice for you....about doing things that bring you joy and fulfillment and create the life and practice you want and/or need. And if that means swapping things around, then go for it! Keep adjusting until you find what works for you, and sometimes fiddle with it just to see what will happen. You can always go back to your familiar routines (and there is something really satisfying about returning to an old routine that you loved...especially after being away from it for a while).
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