“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Every day we wake up, eat, go to work, eat, sleep, and do it all over again the next day. We find a system makes life run smoothly and that adds to our productivity. And it works – for awhile. But eventually we’re living a routine ordinary life. It’s the same stuff every day. Before we know it, instead of being more efficiently motivated, the system traps us within an unchanging stale and counter-productive rut.
To prevent drudgery and boredom, it’s important to change things up every now and again. Add some life into the day! Re-energize! Of course, you can shake things up in a really big way if you want to. But the little things work just as well to make life more meaningful. All it takes to put the pizzazz back into your routine is a little creativity. Below are five easy ways to add some sparkle back into your every day.
1. Cook a New Dish
Life is busy and people often say they don’t have enough time for cooking, let alone exploring new recipes. But cooking can become a form of creative expression rather than a chore. Even if you’re busy or not such a good cook, the act of cooking can get you out of your rut. Getting your hands involved with real food connects your spirit with life. It can inspire and wake up your joy of being alive. You don’t have to be a gourmet cook or do anything fancy. For example, instead of the creamy quick-cooking oatmeal, try the steel-cut variety for a chewy full-textured experience. Or try poached eggs instead of the tried and true scrambled. Stepping out of your routine and trying new ways of cooking things helps wake up your life.
2. Tend a Garden
Flowers, foliage, herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Oh my! Why garden? Because the act of gardening energizes, filling us with joy and hope. It gets us outside, connected with life, and noticing the subtle yet constantly changing daily weather patterns. Tending a garden brings peace and solitude. Not to mention hummingbirds, butterflies, and geckos. Tending a garden may well be one of the best antidotes to a busy, routine life.
3. Write
You don’t have to be a great writer, a perfect speller, or an inspired writer to keep a journal. Write because you want to write, not because you have to. Write what is interesting to you, not what you think you’re supposed to be writing. Be messy, be silly, be grandiose, be emotional. Writing helps ground you in the knowledge of who you really are. Writing connects the mind with the spirit. When you write, you gradually open and learn the answers to “Who am I?” You discover you have unique thoughts, opinions, emotions, passions, convictions, and ideas.
4. Improve Your Relationships
Over time all long-term relationships grown and change. Your emotional needs, hobbies, interests, and values evolve – and so do theirs. It can be easy to grow apart. Peek into your closest relationships and find innovative ways to spruce things up. What would bring back the laughter, the easy joy, and camaraderie? Could you take walks together? Share dinner or pies? Buy him or her little gifts or pick up groceries for them when you’re out shopping? Maybe they might be interested in getting involved with a personal project? Too often, people put their best selves out there to their work colleagues, but show up uninvolved or uninspired with those they love most. Today, show your friend or lover (in actions) that you value your relationship with him or her. Create a memory and let them know just how blessed fell to have them as your best friend.
5. Closet Makeover
If you’re feeling a bit “blah” rather than fabulous, then maybe it’s time to shake up your closet. First, get in there with five extra-large boxes or oversized trash bags and start thinning the herd. Shoes, belts, socks, underwear, winter sweaters, and last year’s shirts. Sort through them all and let go of anything that no longer feels right. You mind might protest, but let it go anyway. The Goodwill or Salvation Army would love to have your stuff. And you’ll have room to breathe when only your favorite clothes remain. Then, take yourself out shopping. Can’t afford to buy a whole new wardrobe? Buy some essential mood lifting pieces.
You don’t have to make sweeping changes in order to get yourself out of auto-pilot. Just start finding new ways to the same little every day things. Rearrange all the pictures in your home, change the energy behind how you do your tasks, try drive to work on different routes, or do something just for the joy of doing it. Try the ideas above and then start finding your own creative ways to make your each and every day shine!
Do you live a conscious life? Do you have any tips for doing so? Share your tips and experiences in the comments section below.
About the Author: Want to learn more about how to live consciously, love deeply, and laugh often? Come along with Dr. Annette Colby and learn the secrets to creating the life you’ve always wanted to live! Subscribe to her blog Divine Self! today.
Similar Posts:
- None Found
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Another great article that is so relevant to today. It’s so easy to get trapped in the routine and not even realize it. You are so right that little things can shake up your life just enough to get the creative energy flowing again. My personal suggestion, and one I am doing tomorrow, is get a new haircut. Trimming away the dead ends is a great metaphor for trimming away the old that no longer works so that the new can shine.
That’s a great metaphor Adrienne! Trimming away the things that are worn and tired and bring new energy into life. Sometimes it really is the little things that add sparkle to life.
Wow! Just when I’ve been pondering when I’m going to take myself off to my hairdresser to get a haircut.
I did clean away a little debris hovering around my tulip sprouts……yes, they are showing their pretty heads……pardon the pun! Definitely adding sparkle to my life.
My bird friends are very receptive to the food I’ve been putting out for them. We still have a little snow in the backyard, but every day I see less.
I’m looking forward to cleaning out my closet which is on my agenda for next week. Today I’m off to have coffee with a friend I haven’t seen in awhile. This is not an earth shattering event, but will surely add sparkle to my day.
My creative juices are flowing with the sap.
As ever, Kathleen
Kathleen,
I can feel the creative joy oozing from your life. It’s those little things, done with conscious awareness, that allows us to enjoy the beautiful sensory experience of life. Tulips popping out from the white snow, coffee with a friend, making space in a closet… Absolutely delightful!
You added sparkle to our days!
Thank You for a great article…I am really starting to embrace change. I know for a fact I have been resistant in the past…not in all areas but, in areas that I was uncomfortable with. I am learning to press pass that uncomfortableness and am experiencing wonderful breakthrus in many areas that I never thought I could be a part of. Many of the pictures I had been looking at for years were not truth…when I realized this I was able to truly embrace change.