Breaking the routine

Routine is good because it keeps us organized and allows us to have parts of our day that don't require planning and thinking.

Routine is bad because it makes us feel stuck, uninspired, and bored.

So we need routine but we also need to break out of it every now and then. How we do that varies with the person and the situation. But we need to to break free occasionally. Shaking up our lives even a little bit adds spark ane excitement to the more mundane parts of life. Freeing ourselves from routine makes us feel more alive.

Today I broke out. And I fought it all the way. I'm in New Jersey tonight taking a seminar I paid for 3 years ago. I wanted this badly then but so much has changed in my life since then that it hasn't felt that compelling. But I paid plenty for it and couldn't waste that money. It just felt easier to stay close to home, not stretch my mind, stay comfortable. Maybe it was because I was home sick a week ago and didn't do anything more than watch TV for a week. Maybe I was just experiencing a bit of laziness.

I didn't want to go...even had a toothache yesterday which could have made me cancel. But here I am...and even before I take the seminar, I'm so glad I'm here. Why? Because I found the me I most like to be...the one that takes risks, the one that wants to grow and learn, the one that wants to help people. I found her about 2hours into the trip when I was far enough from home that it wasn't worth turning back. When the excitement I love about traveling began to overtake the shy woman who wanted to just be home. I loved the excitment of not knowing what's ahead on the highway...the truck I passed full of Christmas trees, the snow flakes that began to flurry just a bit on the Garden State Parkway, the view of the Atlantic Ocean from my window. This is not routine...this is a challenge...and this is feeling alive, at least for me.

What can you do to shake up your routine? Even in tough times - economic and otherwise - we can find a way to change the way we do things - go a different way, meet some friends we haven't seen, find something fun and funny to do. Don't let times and circumstances, habit and routine steal the joy and excitement hiding within. Break out!!