While everyone else is doing a ‘New Year New You’ program (there are thousands of them), we offer you a different path. One often less taken. We present to you the 12 Week Self Remodel. Each Monday for 12 weeks we’ll post one thing you can change in your life, easily, to help create the life you really want. Each one is a small adjustment to your existing life, small stepping stones to a better you. As such, they take little effort or time to accomplish. Each one will be posted later in the day, intentionally. Your work week may start on Monday, but the Reclaimed week starts on Tuesday. Less competition for your time, and less stress (also something to look forward to on your Monday commute). So, let’s begin.

Week 7 – Stop and Watch the People

In today’s world everyone is conditioned to mind their own business, and not to notice life happening around them. Today, we’re going to do the exact opposite.

There is a world happening out there, an entire life surrounding you, that you don’t see. Furthermore, what you do see of it, you often pay little attention to. That guy that cut you off in traffic earlier this week, what color hair did he have? Was it even a he, or was it a she? Do you even remember? How many people were around you on the treadmills at the gym today? (This long after New Year’s probably not that many anymore.)

Take some time out of your day, you have far more of it that you care to admit, and go sit somewhere that people are. If it’s a nice day, find a bench outside. Or you can integrate this activity into your daily visit to the local coffee shop. Anywhere that people are going about their day.

Once you’ve found your spot, sit back and observe. Yes, that’s it. Watch life happening around you. Really take it all in for a change. Some people may look at you a little funny, but who cares. They’ll forget about you soon enough.

Really see the people around you. See their mannerisms, their behaviors. How many let this moment of their life be swallowed by their phones and other electronic devices? Do any make eye contact with you? When you see groups together, see if you can work out what their relationships are. Are you seeing things in their interactions that their friends are missing? What’s the story there?

Spend at least twenty minutes each time you do this to soak in the life around you. And after you are finished, pull out that journal you started and write own your thoughts and observations. Over time you’ll find your understanding of the world you live in expands in ways you don’t expect, and in a few that you do.

And who knows, you might just start noticing things in your own friends and coworkers you hadn’t seen before.

Let us know how you’re doing on the Self Remodel in the comments below.

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