Newton's Laws

As a scientist, I had many laws and rules drilled into my head over the years.  One that is easily retrieved from the recesses of my mind, word for word, is the First of Newton's Three Laws of Motion.  It states that "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it."

As we go about life, we tend to end up in routines and ruts and patterns of behavior.  Our process for getting ready for work in the morning or for bed at night may follow the same routine.  We drive the same roads at the same time on the way to work every day.  We answer our e-mails after getting our coffee, before touching base with our co-workers.  Our favorite television programs call to us at the same time on the same day every week (unless we tape them and change our viewing pattern).  Our exercise routines (it's even called a routine), approaches to the holidays, relationships, problems and just about everything we can think of seem to be repeats of the time before.

What would happen if we turned our day upside down and ate breakfast for dinner and dinner for breakfast, or dessert first instead of the salad?  What if we looked up instead of down?  What if we changed one little thing about the way we did things or looked at the world and put ourselves on a different track and pace? What would result?

I recently heard a story of a photographer who was looking for inspirational pictures for a client and went about the city taking pictures of everything he saw,  Tired from the day, he was walking through a park and rested himself on one of the grassy hills nearby.  Looking up at the sky he had a great insight.  He started to take pictures of the sky and the clouds instead of all the objects rooted to the earth and found the perfect snapshots for his customer. 

Give yourself a little kick in the side and put things in motion that weren't previously - and see where it takes you.   For more ideas check my newsletter at www.ideasandbeyond.com.