LIT: The Tools

Unlocking LIT: Essential Tools and Insights

LIT: LIFE IGNITION TOOLS provide actionable strategies to help you:

  • Escape the rut of routine thinking: Discover how to tap into your imaginative power and unlock new possibilities.
  • Infuse your life with passion and purpose: Learn to cultivate creativity and excitement in every aspect of your life.
  • Create meaningful and lasting bonds: Integrate your spiritual and personal life to repair and deepen relationships with those who matter most.
  • Thrive in the age of information: Develop techniques to navigate sensory overload and manage the constant influx of data.
Click here to SPARK IT UP NOW!

Streamlining the Journey: Lowering Activation Energy for Success

Whatever the first step may be, it always becomes easier when you find ways to reduce the activation energy.
Get the ball rolling, and lower the activation energy. Activation energy is the amount of purposeful energy it takes to get something started and then to continue with it. In the figure above, activation energy is the effort required to push the ball to the top of the hill, where the last nudge sends it over the top and down the other side. In any effort, once you get the ball rolling, momentum works in your favor and the next steps become easier. You can break larger goals into smaller steps, then lower the activation energy for each one.

LIT tools essentially cue the brain to cut through inertia to initiate action. Whatever the first step may be, it always becomes easier when you find ways to reduce the activation energy. Here are four lit strategies that will effectively lower activation energyas you engage with any of the tools ahead:

  • MINIMIZE OBSTACLES. First, identify the sources of resistance for you, then change what you can or ask others for help to do so.
  • MAXIMIZE REWARDS. These can be anything that gets you excited,brings you joy, energizes you, calms you or quiets your mind, or gives you a feeling of accomplishment.
  • MAKE THE MOST OF MOMENTUM. Take advantage of what I call the velocity of intention to boost momentum. Once you become aware of your intention and then start acting on it, that builds momentum and the velocity increases. It’s easier to pick up speed when you are already moving. So tap the energy of a conducive environment or motivated others around you; they’re a motivational accelerant. Consciously cultivate a habit of action over inaction and intentional actions over habitual ones.
  • PACE YOURSELF. Think of everything as a pendulum swing or the way biorhythms affect your energy levels, metabolism, attention, mood, and every other aspect of your physical and mental functioning. Depending on where you are in that pendulum swing or cycle, you can lower the activation energy in different ways and use LIT tools to alter your trajectory.

In other words, motivation, momentum, and proper timing can reduce activation energy.

Get the Ball Rolling!
Lower the Activation Energy.

Pinch Your Brain: Attention Is Your Superpower

Interrupt mind drift and the pull of distractions with intentional tugs.
This might look like:

  • Pinching with purpose. What will pack the most punch for you? When you are on a walk, cycle through your senses!
  • Touch: Feel your heels hit the floor.
  • Smell: The crispness of leaves.
  • Sight: Look at the sky and notice the clouds or lack thereof.
  • Hear: Listen to the birds sing.
  • Taste: The remnants of granola on your breath from breakfast.
  • Intercepting and becoming familiar with your distractions by keeping a simple ‘distraction log’. Write ‘DISTRACTION’ on a paper and make a check mark every time you deviate from a task. I call this the ‘Distraction Disrupter’!
  • Pinching to resist the pulls and condition yourself to new cues. Typically, we feel conditioned to drop what we are doing to respond to emails, texts, and calls, but try asking, “Is this something I have invited someone to ask me right now? Is this something I planned to do at this moment? If I could choose how to be spending my work or family time right now, what would I focus on?”

Flip the Switch – What’s Holding You Back?

Intercept routine patterns to make simple, deliberate changes.
This might look like:

  • Becoming acquainted with the 3 P’s that Enhance Discovery
  • Patterns: Notice repetitive patterns that send you down familiar paths in decision making. Experiment releasing them and act with more intention. For instance, if you always walk down the same road when taking your kids to school, try a different path (even if it’s longer). You can point out new homes to your children and notice new birds and trees to mix up the routine.
  • Potential: Recognize that there is potential wherever you create space for change. Be part of your kid’s moment, instead of making it your moment. (Instead of saying, “When I was your age,” hold space for them by listening to what they’re saying, and find ways to encourage them to keep talking and you to keep listening. .)
  • Possibilities: Infuse fresh inspiration into your day. If you’re watching Netflix, select an inspirational documentary instead of a thriller that gets your cortisol racing. You are what you see (including the media you consume)!

Press “Pause”: Protect Time to Be and Behold

Prioritize time for unhurried play, solitude, and silence to recharge your spirit.
This might look like:
  • Creating space to process information and experiences. We need to incorporate time in our schedules to synch up and determine how what we just heard or experienced fits into our lives.
  • Using familiar downtime cues to signal your brain and body to shift gears. Experiment to find what works best for you. Sensory cues might be opening the window to let in fresh air or sounds or lighting a scented candle. Relaxing mental images or memories can help shift your energy.
  • Taking a breather to redirect your impulses towards positive choices for more meaningful and sustainable outcomes. I often use what I call a “Crave Clock.” Each time I experience a craving, I set a countdown for three minutes when I desire something – and reassess my feelings once it rings.

Hug Nature: Revitalize Your Roots

Embrace your place in the natural ecosystem and connect with life’s powerful resources to flourish.
This might look like:
  • Using materials found on a walk, such as stones, twigs, and leaves, create something that inspires you. As an example, I make rock structures and puts them into trees.
  • Taking a five minute walk and challenging yourself to find a new plant, animal, or aspect of nature and slowing your footsteps in order to observe these new findings more closely
  • Exploring the different sounds you hear like the rustling of leaves, water streams, and snow or ice crackling. This exercise improves mindfulness and auditory awareness, encouraging a deeper sensory connection with your natural environment.