There is a common view that “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”.  This is a safe and convenient strategy, but one that doesn’t work well for me.  How about this a corollary, “If it isn’t broken, break it.”  When I see something functioning properly it instinctively encourages me to wonder why and how this is so.  What curious quirk or feature is this application taking advantage of?  Why does this work so well, and where else could this idea be applied?

Thomas Edison noted, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” 

Albert Einstein similarly stated, “Make mistakes.  A person who never made a mistake never did anything new.” 

There is no shortage of famous people who talk about how experimenting with life was the key to their success.

Breaking things to see if they can be made better is all about experimenting and failure and learning.  Mixing a cocktail of HOW, WHY, FAILURE and WONDER into our daily routines is actively being in the present moment.  Examining the sequence of steps to do a task and challenging them in terms of whether each one is essential, could be re-ordered or re- arranged can lead to enlightenment.  If it does not work, you learned something and may have to break it differently. Curiously, as you carefully examine the task, not only can you improve its efficiency, but a sense of ownership can increase.

If you look at the lives of successful people or listen to their sage advice, almost without exception they talk about their failures, setbacks and disappointments.  But they keep on experimenting and learning from their mistakes.  They kept on setting challenging but attainable goals and expect failures along the way. Failing makes success sweeter.  Whether the experiment works or not, these are both occasions for awe if you allow for learning and growth.

Go and break, or at least tinker with, one of your rituals, and experiment with how you might make it new and different.

 Please be kind, patient and thoughtful to your partner and others.

Reflection Source: www.Smallercup.org

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