On rituals, habits and repetition
Reading about why people continue to use Google over other search engines I was struck by how habitual users have an expectation for success every time they search on Google and that they pay attention to information that confirms their use such as others saying, yes I use Google all the time too. I’ve considered myself a person who likes routine in my life – there is something that gives me great joy in making my tea in the same pot, walking Loca on the same route, my scheduled Pilates classes, and folding my clothes in the same manner. These routines give me comfort. But it seems like I’m always breaking routines – flying out and staying at hotels, changing my fitness goals by giving myself a new challenge every year (this year again its the 150 mile bike ride) and hey, my job, seems to be the ever changing, ever in flux, dynamic of how to do this different, better, than last year.
So while I believe in ritual – the habits that come from extended use of the same thing, and I enjoy routine, there is also spontaneity and curiosity that vies for my attention as well. My success has also been realized in the shock of the new to borrow a great line. A friend of mine calls it mixing things up – you keep what’s best and change the rest – again Fiorina’s line from a few years back when she was the next best thing.