I read 75% of people are committed either to the right or to the left side of the bed. A vast majority. And I am one of them. For this small anecdotical routine, I confess I am a “leftie”. Without even thinking about it, I forged my own conviction that this side is more comfortable. But don’t worry, I won’t argue here about any benefit of sleeping on left or right side (even though you would find a lot of literature about it on the net, including the influence it may have on your mood) …
The reason why I am opening the subject is because I had to change side the other night as I had to wake up very frequently during a night and didn’t want to disturb my partner. As I was exceptionally laying on the right side of the bed, I was suddenly hit by the realization of it. The bed felt different, a bit firmer, the light was brighter as I was closer to the source, my perception of the whole room was also changed and, in my sleeping position, I was able to see almost whole of it. The door was more distant, the silence a bit deeper even my companion was looking different seen from the other side. At that moment I was acknowledging all these differences I forgot the discomfort and started savouring the experience at a new level. I recognized the pleasure of experiencing a broader sense of the small universe around me and the excitation of connecting more deeply as I was learning something new and focusing into it.
This made me think about the construction of all the routines we have in life or business which prevent us to get different perspectives. By doing so we deprive ourselves from some learning pleasures and certainly we limit our understanding and creative ability. Similarly, we pick the same chair in a meeting room, we go at the same time at the coffee machine and discuss with the same group of colleagues. We might even use thousands of times the same examples to make a point or prepare our reunion calling the same influencers. We arrived at the same time in office and might always get the same sources of information.
Our routines, those habits we do without even thinking drive efficiency and comfort. I have been grown in my professional life with the idea that repetition of proven patterns drive efficiency and offer a certain kind of liberation. But this must be mindfully balanced because excess of it would be such a low effort posture for our brain. In fact, our brain needs stimulation to develop new thoughts and ideas.
What if we would help our brain by intentionally and regularly disrupting our work routine and behaviours: our morning routine order, the chair we pick, the newspapers we read, people we meet or our commuting habits? What if we would change our side of the bed and thus grow our brain agility to see things with a broader perspective?