20 Ways to Nudge Ourselves back on track

I am writing this post almost as a reminder to myself since I am at that spot where I require a good nudge to get back on track in many aspects of my life. I haven't woken up at my usual time for over a week now, and for over half of the month of August. My diet has been horrible the entire month, and haven't been to gym for over 25 days now. The month was a haywire in terms of my routine.

Many of us feel this way, for days or weeks but maybe months and years for some. That's almost like you've started driving, and after a no specific point, you've given auto control without inputting the destination, and now waking up you find you've gone nowhere you intended to go. We drifted to a passive state where the control no longer seems to be in our hands, and we no longer have the strength, courage, or even the desire to take charge of the situation. Just laying in an Cataractous Passivity life as I'd like to call it.  There's a reason why I named it so. This Apathy and Passivity develop like a Cataract upon our lenses, slow and steady, and almost blinding us in time.

Many of us spend most of our lifetimes in this inactive activities. The dynamism fades, an inertia creeps up, and before we know or recognize it, we're pushed to the reluctance. Then the passivity passivity which is almost a quicksand that takes us in slowly but surely, with seemingly little to no control. If this sounds like something you go through or have gone through, I hope this post is just what's needed to pull us out of that sinking pit.

THE MENTAL INCANTATION AND REMINDERS:

The pit that we've been referring to is NOTHING BUT a Mental creation, which might seep into other realms. So, a mental magic is needed to really operate on that cataract in mind. Here are the suggestions to liven ourselves up:

1. Recognize how we are the Creators of this sinking pit- Consciously or unconsciously, but we are the cause, and we go through the effect too. It seems like a pretty bizarre physics experiment, our lives. We created the desire to enhance the quality of our lives by choosing or desiring to do certain actions, and then we talk ourselves out of it, or inaction ourselves out of it, such that those desires stay as the dusty books that we know are amazing to read, but we choose not to.

2. See every time the cataractous Passivity creeps in, we drift from being an active chooser to a passive yielder. We give in to the circumstance, temptation, comfort, predictability, etc., And a sense of letting go feels satisfactory at a surface level, but if you're conscious, you'd find yourself in a battle deep down, trying to justify with all the possible reasons for choosing passivity, while as you go further deep, you'd know that your choice to be passive isn't an ideal one.

3. A bit more attention every minute of the day would transform the way we choose to think, live, and be. It's our hand that reaches to the cellphone to order in as we find it takes 30 minutes to cook and ordering in is sooner and easier. The mental energy wasted in deciding what to order, from where, and if there's offers/coupon code (If you're conservative like me) how much to order, how much to tip, what's the spice level, would I like a pop with that order. Would wings be better or nuggets, which card to use, how much would the credit card bill be with this order, how often have I ordered in this week/month, why am I falling behind so often, and question our way of life altogether. Wasting 10 minutes to order and wait for 30 mins to get the delivery, or even if it's sooner, somehow our mind finds better than cooking for 30 minutes. As we open the fridge to find veggies, recognize that this is your choice that we'd like to eat home cooked meals and you're observing your choices. This might feel like an extremely simple step, but we often live our entire lives without recognizing this observer and doer as one and the same, and that's ourselves.

4. Take advantage of the stimulus-response gap. The gap between the urge and action is the stimulus response gap and to really see that everything in our lives is a choice, the life takes an enormous turn for the better. This is almost the core of Spirituality, where this very life of ours is from the series of choices. Every time we come across an active situation, could be as simple as pausing to scroll through to respond to your mom's text, or as big a choice as saying Yes to the proposal, take advantage of that gap, and as small as it could be, can still make an enormous difference. Just by being conscious of the choices during the active situations, large transformations can happen.

   

5. A cleanse could help. A cleanse in all areas of life. This could be a separate post, but essentially, a physiological cleanse could be a good soak in a lake or even a bath, a massage, a wind cleanse for 20 minutes etc; psychological cleanse is can involve slight shifts in the habits, that disturbs and uproots a few deep rooted unconscious links. Emotional cleanse could be about labelling exactly what you feel at the given moment- Both baseline emotions that you return to after a situation, and the momentary emotion that you go through during the situation. It can also be about working on removing low frequency emotions to elevate your experience of life. Intellectual cleanse can involve taking an inventory of all the information that you gather everyday and how useless those are. Scrolling endlessly watching reels, or choosing to listen to non-fiction audiobook during the wait times in the queue, locate exactly where you need your intellectual cleansing. Socially, cleansing can be about severing ties with those that bring your energies down. With a bit more awareness we can sense exactly who enhances or keeps your energies, and the ones that drain. That doesn't mean you hate or dislike such people. We can be loving and still stay distant with them! Vocational cleanse could be relating to habits we developed as we work, or at the workplace. Maybe about the firm you work for. Take a look at things that don't serve you at workplace/space and get yourself clear off that. Spiritual cleanse can begin with a process called Bhuta Shuddhi (Offered by Isha Yoga Center or III Tennessee). This is the first stage to begin the cleansing of elements that make pretty everything on this planet (Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space).

6. A good reset begins by just doing the very things we've been pushing aside or postponing. Taking that first step towards that active choice is all that's needed to keep us going. Sometimes, for me, it would be the first 15 steps top really see why I should do what I undertake. Observe the emotions and energies as you go through the phases- As you break the physiological or psychological barriers, and as you do go through the action, and then once you are successful in that action.

7. Try to find an accountability partner. Any well meaning best friend or your life partner can work. Mentors are even better. If you're a lone wolf, depend on online sources and tricks to keep you accountable. Keep a visual chart/journal for the month with pics of your activity intended everyday. These are just tricks to lean on when you're unable to pick yourself up on certain days.

   

8. You don't have to be hard on yourself. At the same time, don't be too soft upon yourself either. Know exactly when you're being tricked by false sympathies in a psychological and physiological manner and when you are actually in need of a break. You don't need to trash talk nor pamper yourself.

9. Set a Reset Ritual for yourself. It is just a way to nudge ourselves back on track. For me, usually waking up at 330am to write, then starting my day is a reset ritual. A much quicker one is simply opening Pinterest app to nudge me back to my focal point as I almost always feel guilty for not being as motivated as I should to get to my dreams on the boards there. It can be as elaborate or as simple as you like it. Vacation or a retreat, or sometimes even a good night sleep can be your reset ritual. If you don't have one yet, design yours!

10. Keep your vision board at places where you spend most time at. I have it on my work laptop, and on my chat screensaver. Seeing them WITH attention is the key ingredient to remind ourselves what we actually want to do with this life of ours.

    
    

THE ACTION INCANTATION- WHAT CAN YOU DO?:

I like this activity as it gives a fresh perspective and excitement every time I sit down for this. I hope this helps you too!

1. Take an inventory of everything that enhances the quality and intensity of your life. I'd suggest that you take a handwritten or digital note of the following: I segregate it into 7 realms- Physiological, Psychological, Emotional, Intellectual, Social, Vocational, and Spiritual. Note everything that you think enhances the quality of each of these life areas. Note everything that you've done for a while, or intending to do it.

2. Notice the areas where we've gone into Cataractous Passivity. Where we know almost exactly what needs to be done, but haven't done it in awhile or ever. Note them in a list in a separate sheet or page. This becomes your Massive Life To Do List.

3. If your 'to do' in your life area in the list above is big, something like- read 30 books a year- break them down into manageable mini to do's- Which could start by just choosing the genre, and the authors for the book you'd like to read for the year.

   

4. Set yourself one small goal (A Smoal) in each of those 'Mini To Dos'. For instance, if Blogging is your Intellectual area's to do, then set a small goal- a Smoal if you will, as to write at least for 15 minutes everyday in any platform, at any time available.

5. Keep in mind to not underestimate our Cataractous Passivity for it has the tendency to blind us for the things that could otherwise be obvious and needs our notice. It is necessary to clear the cloudy layers off which needs more than just knowing what you need to do in various areas of life. As you set those small goals for each items in your To Do, also set the following (Almost what the book Atomic Habits advises us to do)- A Trigger, A Live action, and a Reward. So, you know that you should do something when you see the trigger, and you do it along with another usual thing you do in your otherwise normal day, and as a token of reward for taking up that action, you give yourself something as a small push or appreciation to repeat the next day.

6. Ensure you maintain a tracking system to see your progress, not just for records, but it can act as a motivation to continue doing the action. I like to use a simple paper calendar.

7. This makes each 'to do' a lot clearer than what we may have in mind- Life Areas- To Do- Mini To do- Smoal- Trigger- A Live Action- Reward- Tracking.

8. Set things in motion- Start by taking up one area of life, and one mini to do, and start by actually doing them. The only way to get out of the passivity is by being Active. Active in terms of doing what you've been pushing aside when you were passive.

   

9. The only thing that could stop you from here on out is yourself. There's nothing really stopping us once we take charge of the actions, responses, and the choices we do everyday.

10. Giving up even though might be the nudge in many of our minds as we do hard tasks physical, mental or emotional- That holding a pose for 30 seconds that seem like 30 hours, or unbearable but essential chat with the client, or the breakup from the toxic relationship- love or relational, we have all recognized that voice behind us about giving up, just dropping to the floor, or disconnecting the call, or just calling that guy/gal back. However, we also know the strength we gain as we endure these difficult moments. It's essential we recognize that as much as we tend to yield, we also have the capacity to hold on.

    
    

    

    - Sru🔥