Source: http://www.mindpowernews.com/WeirdHabits.htm

Some habits will help you live a better life. They’ll help you improve what’s already working or help you fix what’s not working very well.

But what about habits that completely change the game entirely? What are the questions that uproot your beliefs, shake them from its roots and move you into a bigger pot?

These are seven habits that won’t just improve your game, or help you “level up.” They’ll help you play a different game, one that you completely design yourself.

1. Regularly engage in time travel.

Often the best way to solve a problem is to have a conversation with your future self. How do you do this without bending the space-time continuum? It’s simple, really. Have a seat in your favorite chair and close your eyes. Now imagine walking into a bare room, with plain white walls with a small table and two folding chairs facing across from each other. Sit down in the chair closest to you. Now, in walks your future self 10 years from now. S/he sits across from you and explains that s/he’s there to answer whatever questions you have about the problems you’re facing. Go ahead and begin firing. Ask him/her whatever you want and take advantage of a more experienced version of you.

2. Before you act, hold back.

You would think that immediate, unmitigated action is best. Act quick! Buy now! Hurry before it’s too late! These seem to be the cultural beliefs we’re imprinted with. But is acting quickly really better? I think sometimes the opposite is better. Think about what you want, but wait to act. Just spend ten minutes thinking about what you want to create and allow yourself to feel what it will be like to take action. I think you’ll find when you build anticipation like this, the quality of your action will improve.

3. Ignore and doubt yourself.

Sometimes listening to yourself and getting in touch with your intuition is important. But what if you don’t like what you have to say to yourself? What if you have patterns of thought that aren’t serving you? Sometimes it’s better to allow them to be there and ignore them, rather than trying to push them out. Other times, it’s even important to doubt yourself… that is, doubt what you think you’re capable of. We often underestimate our potential, so it can be beneficial to create the habit of doubting what you think you can do. It’s often much more than you think.

4. Feel before you do.

A lot of the time we create to do lists or start projects based on what we want to get done or want to accomplish. The feeling is supposed to come after we’re done. We’re supposed to feel good by accomplishing. While this approach seems very logical, it doesn’t always work too well. It’s much better to start with the feeling you want to create, and then choose the actions you want to take that will create that feeling. This is a hard habit to create, because it doesn’t seem reasonable and requires a lot of trust. You’ll also have to have the courage to stop doing a lot of things that don’t create the feeling you want. That takes a lot of guts. But it’s worth it.

5. What would happen if this was easy…?

As a culture we value people that work hard and beat the odds. We think it’s important to pay our dues and grind it out. But what if work didn’t have to be hard? What if your life didn’t have to be hard? What would happen if things were easy? Regularly asking yourself this question and seeing what comes up can be game changing.

6. What do I think is impossible…?

Sometimes we think that we’re only capable of a certain level of achievement. We doubt our own capabilities or think that a certain change would be too hard or impossible. We’ve set ourselves up to fail before we even begin. Ask yourself this question, then ask yourself why you think it’s hard or impossible. Then take a moment to pretend it wasn’t. What would you do differently?

7. What would I do if I had everything I needed already…?

A lot of the time we think we need more than we do in order to do what we want. We think we need more time. More money. More resources. More support. But is that really true? You can do a lot with a little. Many businesses are built with little to no start up money. Many great projects are started with a simple idea and a willingness to work hard. What if you didn’t need whatever it is you think you need to start? What if you had everything you needed right now?

These are just a few habits I’ve found that have made a huge difference for me. They’re a bit uncommon and take a while of practice in order to make them work, but once they’re installed you’ve essentially created a limit-breaking loop that leads you to higher and higher levels of success. It feeds on itself to grow.

So now my question for you is this: What habit has made the biggest difference for you? What one question or ritual has changed your life?

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Hal di atas mengingatkan saya pada tulisan Emha berikut:

Syair Penjual Kacang

Al-Habib, seorang yang dikasihi oleh banyak orang dan senantiasa didambakan kemuliaan hatinya, malam itu mengimami shalat Isya’ suatu jamaah yang terdiri dari para pejabat negara dan pemuka masyarakat.

Berbeda dengan adatnya, sesudah tahiyyat akhir diakhiri dengan salam, Al-Habib langsung membalikkan tubuhnya, menghadapkan wajahnya kepada para jamaah dan menyorotkan matanya tajam-tajam.

”Salah satu dari kalian keluarlah sejenak dari ruangan ini,” katanya, ”Di halaman depan sedang berdiri seorang penjual kacang godok. Keluarkan sebagian dari uang kalian, belilah barang beberapa bungkus.”

Beberapa orang langsung berdiri dan berlari keluar, dan kembali ke ruangan beberapa saat kemudian.

”Makanlah kalian semua,” lanjut Al-Habib, ”Makanlah biji-biji kacang itu, yang diciptakan oleh Allah dengan kemuliaan, yang dijual oleh kemuliaan, dan dibeli oleh kemuliaan.”

Para jamaah tak begitu memahami kata-kata Al-Habib, sehingga sambil menguliti dan memakan kacang, wajah mereka tampak kosong.

”Setiap penerimaan dan pengeluaran uang,” kata Al-Habib, ”hendaklah dipertimbangkan berdasarkan nilai kemuliaan. Bagaimana mencari uang, bagaimana sifat proses datangnya uang ke saku kalian, untuk apa dan kepada siapa uang itu dibelanjakan atau diberikan, akan menjadi ibadah yang tinggi derajatnya apabila diberangkatkan dari perhitungan untuk memperoleh kemuliaan.”

”Tetapi ya Habib,” seseorang bertanya, ”apa hubungannya antara kita beli kacang malam ini dengan kemuliaan?”

Al-Habib menjawab, ”Penjual kacang itu bekerja sampai nanti larut malam atau bahkan sampai menjelang pagi. Ia menyusuri jalanan, menembus gang-gang kota dan kampung-kampung. Di malam hari pada umumnya orang tidur, tetapi penjual kacang itu amat yakin bahwa Allah membagi rejeki bahkan kepada seekor nyamuk pun. Itu taqwa namanya. Berbeda dari sebagian kalian yang sering tak yakin akan kemurahan Allah, sehingga cemas dan untuk menghilangkan kecemasan dalam hidupnya ia lantas melakukan korupsi, menjilat atasan serta bersedia melakukan dosa apa pun saja asal mendatangkan uang.”

Suasana menjadi hening. Para jamaah menundukkan kepala dalam-dalam. Dan Al-Habib meneruskan, ”Istri dan anak penjual kacang itu menunggu di rumah, menunggu dua atau tiga rupiah hasil kerja semalaman. Mereka ikhlas dalam keadaan itu. Penjual kacang itu tidak mencuri atau memperoleh uang secara jalan pintas lainnya. Kalau ia punya situasi mental pencuri, tidaklah ia akan tahan berjam-jam berjualan.”

”Punyakah kalian ketahanan mental setinggi itu?” Al-Habib bertanya, ”Lebih muliakah kalian dibanding penjual kacang itu, atau ia lebih mulia dari kalian? Lebih rendahkah derajat penjual kacang itu dibandingkan kalian, atau di mata Allah ia lebih tinggi maqam-nya dari kalian? Kalau demikian, kenapa di hati kalian selalu ada perasaan dan anggapan bahwa seorang penjual kacang adalah orang rendah dan orang kecil?”

Dan ketika akhirnya Al-Habib mengatakan, ”Mahamulia Allah yang menciptakan kacang, sangat mulia si penjual itu dalam pekerjaannya, serta mulia pulalah kalian yang membeli kacang berdasar makrifat terhadap kemuliaan …” – salah seorang berteriak, melompat dan memeluk tubuh Al-Habib erat-erat.

1987
Emha Ainun Nadjib – Seribu Masjid Satu Jumlahnya (Mizan, 1990).

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