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Hold That Thought

Delight your 8 senses — Hold That Thought


Every Thursday I share three useful things to help you turn overthinking into expert thinking. Here are this week’s picks:

1.

Making a quick infographic for my goals helps me see the interconnectedness and importance of what I'm trying to do. Here are my 2023 goals and how I did it, so that you can quickly visualize yours too:

Feel free to pick my brain about how I made this and/or share your own goals or visualisations.

Also know it's ok to not have explicit goals or to make them visual. Do what works for you with the time and energy you have.

2.

I've been learning about neurodivergence lately — my own and others' too. I was delighted to stumble across this mind-blowing megapost on autism (and so much more) from one of my favorite nerdy haunts, MetaFilter

Dozens of great links and insights in the main post as well as in the comments. I particularly enjoyed taking a fascinating journey through my sensory experience of the world — forget what you were taught in school and re-learn the 8 senses of the body

3.

“We are more likely to repeat a behavior when the experience is satisfying. This is entirely logical. Feelings of pleasure—even minor ones like washing your hands with soap that smells nice and lathers well—are signals that tell the brain: “This feels good. Do this again next time.” Pleasure teaches your brain that a behavior is worth remembering and repeating.”

This quote, plus my hyper- and hypo-sensitivities from the 8 Senses article, has me thinking about specific ways I already make tiny habits more satisfying…

  • I loathe jarring / surprise sounds, so waking up gradually to a silent sunrise alarm clock is a much more pleasant way to start my day.
  • Flossing first thing in the morning (instead of at night when I'm tired from all the demands of the day) with interdental brushes feels much more satisfying and effective than wrapping string around my fingers…and I get so annoyed at the part where I'm trying to toss the used floss in the bin, argh.
  • Setting out the smoothie-making items the night before means I get to quickly pop everything in my new Ninja blender and walk off with a cup of deliciousness in 90 seconds or less…and spend little time as possible in the cold kitchen.

What makes a current habit feel more satisfying for you?

What could you do to make a desired habit a delight for your senses?

As always, I'd love to hear what you come up with. Reply and let me know what's working for you. If I get enough responses for a list I'll share them back in a future post. I'd love to see diversity of responses, so don't be shy.

Kim​

PS. Tiny hack! Thinking of buying a new alarm clock, blender or something else? If you search online with “reddit“ plus the item you want to buy, you'll usually get links to discussion threads with honest reviews at the top of your search results, rather than the search engine optimized (SEO) links.


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Kim Witten, PhD - Transformational Coach & Research Consultant

Hello! My name is Kim Witten and I’ve spent four decades overthinking absolutely everything. I’ve turned this ability into a superpower to get stuff done and now my mission is to help others do the same. Read more about my journey

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Hold That Thought

Helping overwhelmed creatives and small business owners turn overthinking into expert thinking…and action! 3 useful things every Thursday to gain clarity, get more done, and feel great about it.

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