“Shake Up the Happiness”
Good morning! Oh crap. It’s 12:10 pm as I type this. Oh well. I am just now getting my cup of coffee at the amazing Zinc coffee shop and so technically to my body, it’s still morning.
It was a late start for me getting out of the house this morning but I had a TERRIFIC ride in! Here's why: I took a different bike route into town today. Yep. I changed it up because yesterday as I was thinking about it I could feel my body sort of dreading it. Don’t get me wrong. I love to exercise. But it just felt, well boring. Before I knew it, my mind was exploring a new route and in seconds I realized that my brain had figured out a new course. As I headed out on my bike in the brisk winter air this morning, I felt a surge of excitement. It was something new! Something different! Roads I hadn’t been on in a year or so felt like new territory. It may sound strange to you, but I could literally feel my neurons firing and making new connections as I took in the change of scenery. I ain’t lyin’ when I say that it made me happier taking this new route. I felt revitalized and refreshed!
So here’s the thing: The human brain is fucking amazing. It has so many incredible functions that it manages all the time without us even realizing it. I am not a brain specialist nor do I proclaim to be “all-knowing” about the complications of the mind but I DO LOVE learning about it. One thing that I have learned is the importance of variety. It’s like food for your brain. Studies have proven that experiencing diversity in your daily routine benefits your well-being and creates positive emotions. You guys: it’s so simple. We don’t have to save up for a year to take an expensive vacation in order to feel happier. Just make a change in your day. Drive a different route to work. Add a walk to your day. Instead of sitting down to scroll in the evening, take 3 minutes to put on some loud music and silly dance in your living room. Just get creative! The act of switching things up wakes up our brain and our senses and we will experience feelings of happiness. Simple yet profound.
I believe this applies to how we should live our life. It’s so easy to get stuck in our life because we spend so many years building what we think we want and then eventually we become bored of it and wonder if this is really all that life is cracked up to be. I have met many people that have lost their spark of life. They are living but they don’t really seem alive. Sure they have the degree, the job, the house, and the family, but now what?
You see, we weren’t designed to ever “arrive”. Unlike animal brains, our minds are wired to never stop growing and learning. It’s a huge advantage we have. It is how we went from being earthbound to figuring out how to defy gravity. Humans are forever exploring, pushing the limits, and discovering new things. Our mind doesn’t want to just “settle”. It craves adventure.
If you would have asked me 4 years ago if I thought I was stuck in my life I would have told you no. I thought I was experiencing a vast array of life until someone turned the light on and I realized I had been trapped in a dark room my whole life. WTF. It was damn hard to think outside all the boxes I had been trained to never leave, but as soon as I got past my terrifying fears, I found instant happiness flooding my body. Just like my bike ride felt this morning. Sweet relief! I hadn’t even noticed how limited, close-minded, and stuck I had gotten in my life. It feels so good to constantly challenge my own thinking and learn about the world through a curious mind instead of a judgemental one. Damn it feels so good. You should try it sometime. 🙂
Do you feel stuck? Does your life feel stagnant? As much as our brain loves variety, the idea of making big changes is fucking scary to it. We like when we know what to expect. Even if we know what we need or want to change in our life in order to be happier, the fear of uncertainty can keep us from moving forward to a better future. I get it. It is risky. It will definitely involve pain and loss. No one can promise you that things will work out exactly how you want them to. But I can promise you this: You were never meant to live a stagnant, boring, unfulfilling life. Adventure is yours if you can be brave enough to bust out and go get it.
I think Mel Robbins says it really well, “You may say you fear change, but lack of change is why you feel so blah.” Get it, Mel.
Do you know what I’m gonna do? I’m gonna do a better job at paying attention to my brain and find ways to feed it variety every day. Sometimes just listening to a new podcast does the job. On other days I may decide to goofy walk through the grocery store and get a kick out of the looks on people’s faces.
I never again want to be stuck. In any way. I love the two ponds on our property, but I don’t want to be a pond. I want to be a river. Free and uncontainable. Constantly changing and finding new ways of flowing as the seasons change.
I hope this inspires you to shake things up a bit. We get one shot at this precarious thing called life. Let’s be brave, curious, and wild!
I love each of you. No zoos for us, right? Right. 😎
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