I've had to laugh at myself a few times recently, and I invite you to laugh along with me.
I've discovered a well-worn, heavily trodden groove in my thinking/decision-making processes.

And once I noticed it, I kept seeing it.

I understand that our brains make these types of categorizations and decisions, lock them in, and then rarely revisit the decision to avoid expending energy on making the same mundane decision repeatedly each day.
But also -
Come on!!
It would be handy if these were reevaluated periodically.

For example:
My daily dog walking shoes are worn out and broken down. I was thinking that I need new ones because while I don't care what they look like, my feet are beginning to ache due to the lack of support. I was lamenting the purchase of a new pair of shoes that I am going to quickly destroy because of the sheer number of miles, sand, mud, and muck Roxy and I tromp through each day.

Then, in one of those unguarded zoned-out moments, I thought to myself - oh wait.
I have a pair of semi-dead hiking boots that I could use for dog walks. As hiking boots, they are not to be trusted, but I could easily get a few months out of them in another venue.

The fact that it took me so many days to come up with the idea of utilizing hiking boots for day-to-day wear strikes me as so comical. In my mind, the boots had a SINGULAR valiant purpose, which was so deeply entrenched in my brain that I was about to retire two pairs of footwear.

Once I noticed this entrenched thinking, I noticed it again almost immediately.
Granted, I was half asleep, but I still had to chuckle at myself. It was early morning, and I stood there at the bathroom sink squinting against the harsh lights, repeatedly pressing the button on my electric toothbrush, realization dawning that I hadn't charged it the night before.

It took an embarrassingly long twelve seconds for me to realize that I could still brush my teeth. You know the way I have done for years and years prior to owning an electric toothbrush.

This noticing of entrenched thinking got me wondering about my art and if I was applying any of this grooved and hard-baked thinking in that realm.

It stands to reason that I was/am/will because my brain is so delightfully efficient!

I haven't stumbled upon anything as obvious as the examples above, but in my last post, Lessons in Solitude, I talked about taking Skillshare classes and Illustrating my daily journal.

In the class by Samantha Dion Baker that I took specifically about journal illustration, I remember being slightly startled and a little put out that she plans her "layouts." the fact that she called her pages layouts at all had me a touch befuddled.

Because again, grooved thinking.

I realized I had the “belief” that an illustrated journal should magically happen, that it should effortlessly flow and be beautiful.

Please don't ask me where I picked up this idea. I will assume I saw a movie or a TV show with someone blithely and absentmindedly sketching a gorgeous scene in a journal without any preparation or planning.

None of my other artistic practices happen without some type of plan, grid, or photo reference, so why my squishy wrinkle bucket of slime and neurons decided that THIS one thing should erupt from my pen fully formed is beyond me.

That being said, I'm so glad I discovered Skillshare, but I've also been paying attention to my thought grooves and patterns more closely. I am 100% certain there are hundreds of preconceived notions that came from the bottom of Hollywood's shoe or some other source not based on reality, floating around in my nugget that is slowing me down on some level.

I found this interview with the author of a book titled “Think Again -The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know.” I enjoyed the interview and added the book to my to-be-read list.

Have you busted yourself stuck in entrenched thinking? Please tell me all about it and assure me I’m not alone in this ridiculousness.