The Spontaneity Game (Installing Novelty)

There are *six basic human emotions.

Thousands of variations within each.

Yet most only experience the same eight shades every day…

… making life nothing more than repetitions of days.

It's why Entrepreneur Development is so important.

Ever wondered why so many claim to be “depressed” these days?

It’s because they know exactly how they’re going to feel before getting out of bed.

To make matters worse, the majority of ‘felt’ emotions are superficial.

Found within a screen hidden behind a wall of comparison and judged with vanity metrics.

In a world where technology has the ability to remove all spontaneity from life…

… one must go in search of it - in search of uncertainty.

*Anger, Surprise, Disgust, Enjoyment, Fear, and Sadness - via Paul Eckman

</the psychology>

Different to the six basic human emotions via Paul Eckman…

… there are six core human ‘needs’ per Tony Robbins.

Certainty, Uncertainty, Love/Connection, Significance, Growth & Contribution

Before continuing… which do you feel are the two more important to you right now?

*Be honest with yourself - you’re going to want to lie because of a preconceived idea of what these words mean.

The two most common, and the two that ruled by life for years are certainty & significance.

I had to be certain (in control) that I was going to be significant (important).

Humans can live without a lot of things, love included... but they cannot live without being important in some way.

This is a large reason why gang’s exist…

Place someone in a gang and you’ve almost immediately met every need on the list.

Place a firearm in that person's hand, tell them to go commit a crime and voila…

... they’ve become the most important person in that encounter.

Not only that, but they’ve also gained an element of certainty (they’re in command), uncertainty (they may have to use it), connection (if successful they will be praised), growth (ascending the ranking order of the gang), and are contributing (albeit not to a positive cause).

Now you see why those who have “nothing else to live for” could find comfort in becoming a member of a gang.

What’s important to notice here is that we all have two primary needs…

… and if they’re not met, all our decisions conspire to do so.

The reason certainty and significance showed up for me was because I felt I lost both when I lost my mother.

She was the glue that held our family together.

I kept asking myself, “How can I become important again?”

*My primary question for those of you who have experienced a Tony Robbins event.

Truth is, I lost myself and used that experience as justification.

What we’re able to do once we have this level of awareness is rewrite the script…

… to choose a new subconscious question that changes every action & choice.

I rewrote mine to, “How can I be grateful for all that I already am?”

Talk about a difference in outcomes when you compare the two questions.

We’ve made progress… but the novelty still isn’t there.

I wasn’t prioritizing uncertainty in my life in the slightest, most don’t.

Because of this, most fail to grow at a rate which provides them fulfillment and satisfaction.

It’s at the border of anxiety from uncertainty that learning happens at the best rate.

I noticed this and installed a few systems to challenge me daily.

Creating new experiences is extremely important to me and my growth.

Here’s what I did…

</the system>

Our brains can only think in response to questions.

It’s why when you examine your thoughts you see that thinking is nothing more than comparing and contrasting elements of your present reality with an unknown future.

To get different outcomes, you must ask different questions…

… and because you’re the question master, you can presuppose outcomes by asking better questions.

One of my favorite ways to create is to ask, in any scenario, “If I knew the answer to this, what would it be?”

... presupposing I do know the answer and I often find it.

Anyways… back to uncertainty.

Because we operate via question-based thinking, I created daily alarms.

My alarms went off throughout the day and contained questions that would challenge me.

… I created my own pattern interrupt designed to challenge me daily.

I’ll get into what this looks like below, but the result it had was invaluable.

I went from living a regimented, patterned life to being able to remove all the unnecessary tedium...

... which I replaced with spontaneous things that brought back my zest for living.

Same as relationships become stale when you stop ‘trying,’ so does your life.

Here’s how to try this out for yourself.

</the technology>

The technology is simple… all you need is your phone and the alarm app.

Be conscious of the sound that you choose because it can become an Emotional Anchor itself…

... and if done intentionally, can be powerful.

Next, you must know what the non-negotiables in your daily routine are so you don't interrupt them.

You must also be conscious of deep work times & flow states… don’t interrupt them.

For me, my sacred time is my mornings (4:30a - 9a).

They’re the same everyday and they ensure my health, wealth and relationships stay dialed.

If those hours are in check, everything else falls into place.

If new to this practice, I’d recommend two alarms to start.

One mid day, and another in the early evening.

*I do one at lunchtime (1p) and another after I know my workday (4p) is about to end.

When you set the alarm you’re going to put the question in the ‘label'.

When it goes off you must answer the question or do the thing on the spot…

... no ‘I’ll do this later,’ or you’ll defeat the purpose.

Not only will this immediately add an element of excitement to your life, it can also serve as a way to spark new ideas and expose present patterns.

Here are a few examples of questions I rotate through:

Where’s a restaurant I’ve always wanted to try? Make reservations for tonight!

What’s something I’ve never done but always wanted to? Do that now!

Who is someone I love but haven’t spoken to lately? Call them now!

What’s something I’ve been putting off? Commit to it now!

It’s a simple practice, but one that transformed the experiences I have daily.

I’d love to hear what you discovered from installing this simple system.

Let me know on Twitter, @Kevin_Wathey