Pay Attention to Subtle Physical Reactions

Ever clench your fists in anger? Chuckle out loud when reading a joke? Sigh when thinking about something disappointing?

Often, we don't do these things intentionally. These are subconscious reactions to things around us. Think about it. It would be absurd to think to yourself, "I thought that was funny, so I am purposefully going to laugh out loud." After all, we don't laugh out loud at 100% of the things we think are funny. (You all who use the LOL acronym in your text messages know this well!)

In listening to an interview on The Tim Ferriss Show with writer and actor B.J. Novak, Novak notes that he is purposefully mindful to these physical reactions. He notes that these physical reactions often exist because our body is reacting to something we think is important or noteworthy. For example, when writing for The Office, Novak would be mindful to the times when he chuckled out loud at something because that usually became good fodder for the show.

We might not all be comedy writers, but we can certainly employ this across our own lives. I've been paying closer attention to these things in my own life and have found them to be helpful. There are times when listening to a podcast where my stomach will kind of turn over when I hear something that strikes a chord with me. Those things have become good material for this and my other blogs.

I don't have much else to say on this, so I'll end it here. This might be a short post, but the implications have been huge for me. I hope you find them to be helpful in your life, too.

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