Many people would say that it is absolute madness to keep on doing the same thing, time after time, expecting to get a different result or for something different to happen. Alternatively, many people, especially those in the personal development and wellness fields of varying natures, would describe it as intelligent to have a goal and be wonderfully flexible about how you go about achieving it.

It is this intelligent idea of enhancing wellness that I want to highlight today.

If what you're doing isn't working or increasing your wellness, do something else;

I was working with a corporate client recently and had been working with one of their senior managers. He had wanted his team to carry out a piece of project work in a certain way. He said to me that he had told them again and again (12 times in total), but they still weren't doing what he wanted. I pointed out that if he wanted them to change what they were doing, he might have to change what he was doing; I suggested that he be more flexible. Together, We explored some alternative approaches and things started to change.

If you are fed up with getting the same results to certain things over and over, with whatever it is that you are looking to change, use this notion to begin to disrupt your existing pattern. If you are just following the idea through in some way, by definition you are perceiving it differently and doing yourself lots of favours. You'll be increasing your wellness.

So, firstly, identify an area where you've been doing the same thing over and over hoping to get a different result. Or an area that you want to increase your wellness. It may relate to a behaviour, habit, circumstance or situation; just choose something that you want to change the outcome of.

Then secondly, clarify your goal, that is, clarify what you want to achieve. Do this by asking yourself what you want and how you will know when you have got it.

Thirdly, construct or create a list of the different approaches and behaviours you have tried already in order to achieve this goal or increased wellness. Or note down what it is that you are doing currently.

Finally and most simply, put together a nice list of some alternative behaviours you will use to achieve the goal and increase wellness. Enlist some help ifyou feel it would help. When you have compiled a good list (put stuff down on that list that may well not seem right for you, it is good to explore avenues that in the past made you feel uncomfortable from time to time). Then, of course, look at starting to do the things that are on your list; do them.

What I am wanting to get across here is the idea of being more bendy.

Your mind and your body really are a single system, so it follows that physical flexibility can often lead to greater mental flexibility. There are certain activities which can greatly increase physical flexibility, including things like Yoga, Martial arts, Dancing, Swimming and lots of other general forms of exercise.

Practicing any of these will increase your overall behavioural and mental flexibility and level of wellness. In addition, find opportunities to break habitual patterns. For instance, most mornings when I shave, I do it in a different way. This requires me to stay aware and vary my patterns. The more flexibility you have, the more flexibility you can bring to situations involving others. Often, when people are seeing me for reducing their weight, I might suggest that they look at the doing things like swapping their knife and fork hands around for a week.

So, go ahead and identify a habitual pattern and change it to enhance your wellness. Especially if it is something you are not entirely happy about.

Here is a list of some things that you can do to interrupt your existing patterns and increase your wellness, you can be as creative as you want with these things.

-Eat a food that you never usually eat

-Go for a walk at an early hour in the morning

-Watch a TV show you would never usually watch

-Take a different journey home from work

-Take a cold shower

-Answer your phone with the opposite hand to usual

-Laugh and smile for no reason

The sooner you start doing this, the more fun you'll have with it. Then often, the higher your increase in wellness. So many people I encounter, know all this stuff or read it and still don't do these things and wonder why they are not getting what they want. Do soemthing different today and you'll be amazed how your wellness rockets.

Copyright 2005 Adam Eason. All Rights Reserved.

Adam Eason is an author, consultant, trainer and motivational speaker in the fields of hypnosis, NLP, personal development and human potential. His website is filled with information, stimulating articles, resources and uniques products.

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