The Daily Habit I Never Knew I Needed
A deceptively simple, game-changing practice that I discovered in a most unlikely place.
There is no shortage (especially here on Medium) of writing about daily habits, routines, and practices that promise to change your life. Journaling, meditation, exercise, doodling, and so on. So far be it from me to add more to the already towering stack of things that everyone should supposedly be doing in order to live their best lives.
But I can’t help but share this simple daily practice that I recently stumbled upon. It’s simple but dense with meaningful stuff. It is easy enough to start doing today — even if you’re driving to work, on a plane, or lying in bed. And if my first day doing it is any indication of how effective it is, I would call it a game-changing habit. So here goes.
I recently found myself on the website of the Center for Non-violent Communication. There is treasure-trove of helpful stuff on there — feelings inventory, and a list of needs, to aid in more effectively understanding and communicating your emotions. Of particular interest to me was a page called 10 Steps to Peace. The page lists 10 principles to serve as the foundation for better communication and cooperation between people. The very first one is this:
Spend some time each…
