Gustavo Razzetti From Liberationist: Routine Chores Can Be A Way To Build Our Foundations

Gustavo Razzetti, Founder at Liberationist, wrote an article in Thrive Global on how routine tasks –for example, washing the dishes— can turn into life lessons, help you improve, and even be a form of meditation. “Chores can be a burden or a way to build our foundations” he said. He explained the value of doing small things. “They help us become more patient, fight laziness, recover the pride and joy of doing things, build resilience, and they are a form of meditation. Most people think that meditating is sitting with our legs crossed and breathing slower and slower. But meditation is the training of the mind” he highlighted. Razzetti offered two exercises to turn routing tasks into meditation. The first, which he calls “warm up”, borrowed from Bernie Roth, author of The Achievement Habit. It consists in looking for a partner and sharing a task. He must also substitute “I must do it” with “I want to do it”. This must be repeated 2 to 3 minutes for different tasks. “Listening to someone restating your story in a positive way is very powerful” he said. The second exercise is to turn doing chores into a meditation and consists in choosing a task you want to improve or that you normally do but dislike and taking away the distractions; preparing for the task; giving it priority; starting with a couple of deep breaths; focusing on enjoying the activity; not losing any details; if you feel distracted, refocus; once finished, take a second to appreciate what you did; and repeat and monitor your improvement. “Compare how it feels when you appreciate chores versus approaching them as a burden.”