Breaking out of routines!

Human beings are creatures of habit. We like our comfort zones, our clearly marked boundaries, our routines, our retreats. We take paths that we or others have tested and proven safe, and hardly stray from them. We structure our lives based on patterns which have always worked for us and are averse to trying out anything new.

Routines can be useful, but if we adhere to them too rigidly, we may soon find our lives emotionally dull and meaningless. Over time, our stiff patterns may become blinds that shut out the possibility of a more vibrant, exciting and promising life.

Identify your routines. What do you do every day? So often that it's becomes a subconscious decision that requires hardly any thought? Why do you do it? Does it really benefit you? How does it benefit you? What about weekends and your leisure hours? Do you seek out the usual sources of entertainment or recreation?

If you feel like you're in a rut, that every day seems too similar to the day before, then you might want to try enlivening your life by breaking out of your routines. You may be so comfortable with them that deviating from them seems hard, but you can start with the small things.

Like taking half a day's leave to go to the movies. Taking a different route to work. Or a different mode of transport. What about eating something you've never eaten before? Or reading a magazine you've never had an interest in before?

These things may seem laughably insignificant, but it's not the thing you do that's important. It's how you allow each new experience to delight and invigorate you. Seek to be different and embrace variety and change. Don't let monotony chase the cheer out of your life.

Received the above in my mailbox. Thought it's an interesting article and would like to share it. Very often people are just unwilling to break from routine because of fear, fear of the unknown. Then they lament that life is so boring. But its all because they refuse to embrace changes. Sadly, I am guilty of it...