I read an article recently which told of a man dressed as Batman entering a carriage on the Milan underground at rush hour and this provoked acts of kindness from the normally indifferent passengers.

His presence caused a boost in thoughtfulness and passengers were almost twice as likely to offer their seat to a pregnant woman. 

It was concluded that the sight of Batman broke commuters out of their routine and they paid more attention to their surroundings and with it, the needs of others.

I suppose we do get stuck in routines, which I think most of us would agree are helpful in a lot of ways especially if our lives might be chaotic without them.

However, perhaps we can also be too introspective if we adhere to a strict routine day in day out and therefore not notice things going on outside our comfort zone.

As many of you will know I have recently been through a few weeks of a certain kind of therapy/hypnosis which I’ve written about in a blog to be published soon.

What came out of the sessions was that I’ve learnt to like myself or rather I’ve decided that I am likeable. I was stuck thinking I wasn’t likeable when I hadn’t slept well which actually made me inward looking. I concentrated on myself and tried to change but sadly without success. I didn’t interact with others in the way I knew I was capable of because I didn’t feel I had much to offer.

I was stuck in a routine feeling good about myself when I’d slept well (rarely, once in a blue moon) and feeling bad about myself most of the time and not good company after sleepless nights.

I’m not totally “cured” and I think it will take a long time, if ever, to totally like myself so that I behave differently (more naturally and with less of an effort) to people in a social situation. 

Do you think that breaking out of a learned, or otherwise, routine might help you to notice others or look at life differently? Do you think we should think less about ourselves and keeping ourselves “safe” and focus more on what is going on outside our small world?

Julia

A Moodscope Member