The Ultimate Interruption - Grasshopper

A most direct way of finding out who you are is discovering who you’re not. This is done through the process of interruption. You interrupt who you think you are with the part of you that’s more than your name, rank, and serial number.

I wrote a whole book on the magic of interruption and you can download it for free at my website grasshoppernotes.com

 

But after writing the book, I discovered the ultimate interruption. It’s an elegantly simple action you can take anytime of the day or night. It involves using the label that’s been attached to you the longest: Your name.

 

We’re known as our name. We call ourselves by it and so do others. For most of us, our name has been with us since birth. It’s a long-standing label that we identify as us. But we’re more than our name.

 

To find out who we truly are, it’s important to interrupt who we think we are with the process of observation. We do this by observing the actions we take or the thoughts we think and attaching our name to those actions and thoughts. Allow me to explain.

 

Any time you observe yourself doing or thinking something, use this form of interruption. Say, “(Your name’s) body is doing ‘X’ OR (Your name’s) mind is thinking ‘Y.’” For example, If I’m brushing my teeth, I observe to myself, “John’s body is brushing his teeth.” If I catch myself thinking about something, I observe to myself, “John’s mind is thinking about having to drive a long distance in the rain.”

 

This simple practice of observation separates you from your name and the actions or thoughts you’ve attached to it. You put your focus on observing what your body or mind is doing or saying in your name.

 

When you observe what your mind is thinking or your body is doing, you recognize they are separate and apart from the real you, namely the creative part of you that observes your thoughts or actions.

 

These simple acts of observation put you in touch with your creative self by differentiating it from your mind and body.

 

By engaging in this observational activity, you get more in touch with the part of you that creates a future rather than one that relives a past. Make it a habit to observe what your mind and body does in your name, and you’ll set the stage for new creative thoughts and actions to pop in, instead of repeating the same old refrain.

 

To make this more than an interesting theory, put the ultimate interruption into your daily routine, and find out you’re more than a name. You’re a creation machine.

 

All the best,