The other day, for the millionth time, I unsubscribed from a email list.

When I was first added, I thought, “hey, this will be convenient. I love XXX’s clothes.” (I don’t want their feelings to be hurt, so I won’t name the company.) “I will know when they are having their best sales and can jump right on it.”

But that was many months ago. I have sworn off buying any clothes online – I found myself making too many returns – so their mailings are no longer useful to me. I thought I unsubscribed a few weeks ago, but the emails kept coming. I started getting irritated. I then said to myself, “Why are you so mad? You started this. They obviously didn’t receive your last unsubscribe message. So send another one and move on!”

I then realized that we have a lot in our lives that we need to “unsubscribe” from: old habits…old thoughts about ourselves….old messages from well-meaning teachers who thought they were helping….old ideas about other people. If we don’t become more aware of those habits, thoughts, messages, and ideas, they can really wreak havoc with our happiness.

We don’t need to hang on to every notion we’ve ever had about the world. So take some time to review your mental “in box” and unsubscribe from thinking that no longer serves you.

Why do restaurants play loud, driving music? OK, not all restaurants but those that specialize in “fast food” seem to be the ones that do it the most.

I was in Jimmy John’s – the home of “Freaky Fast Delivery” – the other day and noticed that every song that came on was fast. And loud. I was glad to be eating alone because I would not have been able to hear anyone sitting across from me.

That night, I did some research on how restaurants choose music to play for their customers. One website said, “Music in a restaurant does not represent the personality of the owner, employee, or a customer. It represents the personality of the restaurant itself.” Another website said that the music is designed to “stay true to their core guest.” But then I read this: “Energetic, up-tempo songs encourage quick dining and faster table turns at peak periods.” The music drives the pace of having lunch?

So I did an experiment. I went back to Jimmy John’s, got my food, and went upstairs to sit. I paid attention to the pace I was eating my food. When David Bowie came on, I deliberately ate more slowly than the beat of the music. I found that it was really, really tough to do. My jaws literally wanted to move to Bowie’s beat. Talk about mindfulness practice!

Then I started watching the other diners. They were eating fast. One guy was eating really fast. One potato chip, then one bite of sandwich, then another potato chip, a slurp of tea, on and on and on. Keeping the beat. It was amazing to watch. He was done in just a few minutes, grabbed his book bag and was gone. Bowie had moved him out the door in no time flat.

So the next time you are in a fast food restaurant eating and there is music on, take a minute to pay attention to your eating speed. Try eating at a slower pace than the music – then let me know what happens. It may change your habits!