During  the past few years I’ve been working hard on cultivating positive habits. New habits can be powerful. But habits can also create barriers that limit our perspective, which can hinder kaizen, creativity, and even our knowledge of ourselves. We’ve all found ourselves in the proverbial “rut” at times. Sometimes we just need a break to re-center, recalibrate, recharge, or readjust our horizons.

In the Zen world, this is known as datsuzoku, a break from the routine. Datsuzoku can be as simple as getting a good night’s sleep or as common as taking a week of vacation. It’s also a great time for reflection.

I have a fairly standardized reflection routine, hansei, that includes a daily reflection in the evening, more extensive monthly and quarterly reflections, and an in-depth annual reflection where I also set goals for the upcoming year.

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