I used to hate to make my bed.
Every day I would avoid it. When my mother asked me as a child if I made my bed I would lie to her.
I don’t know why I hated making my bed so much, if it was an act of rebellion or a fit of laziness, but I would make it a point to actively avoid it. This behavior followed me from childhood in the DC area to being an adult in New York City. For years I never made my bed.
It seemed like a waste of time either way, and I didn’t care to “waste” time.
On the other hand, when I went into a place that had a made bed, say a hotel, I was more organized. I felt a sense of relief once I got to my room. The calm that I had when I had a made bed (and a clean room for that matter) helped me center and get a better grip on the next day.
I didn’t see the connection.
Life is funny that way, where the connection doesn’t stick until it does. We often see with our brains, and our brains get locked into certain habits. When those old habits break, there is an opportunity for new habits and connections to form.
It happened when I laid on my bed for a week while it was “made.”
Let me explain. I had a maid come by after a New Years Party and had the gift of a bed that was ‘made.’ My apartment has the heat on a temperature I like to call “hell” during the winter. So, for a few days I had a bed that was made and an apartment too hot to sleep in it. I spent the time laying on top of the covers.
After a few days I noticed the same habits I had in a hotel. I noticed I got organized before bed and started to think about my day ahead.What I thought was a waste of time turned into a time saver.
That new connection happened because I saw an old place in a new way. My old habit snapped and it gave me the opportunity to see something different. It took different circumstances in the same place to see a better alternative.
I try to think of that every time I stay in the same place too long. I use the question, “didn’t I used to hate to make my bed?” to reframe my situation and try to get to new ground.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 