 Once upon a time, there was a little motivated mind. It had many friends, a stable job, and plenty of good ideas to change the world. To secure a good life for itself, the little mind got up early, dressed smartly, picked up that coffee, and arrived first at work. As time passed, the mind got so good at its routine that it got up automatically, dressed up blindly, picked up that coffee without thinking, and worked without having to pay much attention. But then the mind got so good at it all that it stopped learning, and as a result got bored and sick and bitter. The little mind tried everything, expensive clothes, fine dining, drugs, therapy, scuba and skydiving, but nothing worked. The little mind kept on losing weight and willpower until the day it didn't get up, didn't dress up, didn't pick up that coffee, and didn't show up to work. It was then when it decided things had to change, not all over a sudden because that never works, but in small steps. It started getting up earlier just by 5 minutes. It started dressing up differently, but only a bit. It got that coffee, but not to go, and it began working a little less. With every day that went by, the little mind got a bit more time, time to try new things, time to talk to strangers, time to work on some of those crazy ideas to change the world. And with every new experience, the mind became stronger. It found a new routine, made new friends, and developed a new passion. Eventually the little mind even found a soulmate, made a real family, and started a new job. Every once in a while, it looks at the fruits of its labor, one of which is this little story. From years of research, we know that in order to get their life effectively, we need rigid routines, mental biases, and muscle memory. However, we also know that to find our passion, to fall in love, and to make peace with who we are, we sometimes need to slow down and break the routines we have built. How about you? Did you change your life, find your passion, and fall in love with something, or someone? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Your little minds are very much looking forward to reading your story. This and all other Sprouts videos are licensed under Creative Commons. That means teachers from all around the world can use them in classrooms, online courses, or to start projects. And today, thousands already do. To learn how it works and download this video without ads or background music, check out our website or read the description below. If you want to support our mission and help change education, visit our Patreon. That's patreon.com slash sprouts.