The Quandary of the Daily Routine

Ohhh the humdrum life of the daily routine. The sun rises–we rise. We eat breakfast (for some this is the same entree everyday), we get dressed, go to work (drive in or go to home office). End our work day and start our evening. Make dinner, watch TV, read a book, play video games, scroll social media(whatever it is you fancy doing), then go to bed. Rinse. Repeat. Every.Single Day–this is boring btw.

NOW there may be times we interrupt this monotonous routine to hang out with friends or family, catch a game, go to the beach, or amusement park or take a vacation. But most of the time we are living in the colorless routine we have mastered. Our daily routines help us, but they also keep us stuck.

People who practice being happy typically have a daily routine. They practice gratitude, mindfulness, and meditation on a daily if not frequent basis. People who are determined to reach their health goals(lose weight, gain muscles, stay just as I am) have routines to help them, people who want to learn anew language or trade have routines. People who want to accomplish something stick to a routine to help them achieve their goals. PERIOD. This is the ‘good’ part of routines; they help us accomplish what we desire. This can improve our mood as we navigate through the journey and see positive results from our efforts.

Routines can also keep us stuck.

That is, we are not putting much thought into our activities, we are just living on autopilot. I googled how many thoughts we have per day (honestly, I feel like I have more than I care for). Google told me we have 12,000-70,000 (give or take) thoughts per day. Geez. I also read that 80% of those thoughts are negative and 95% were exactly the same thoughts as the day before. These repetitive thoughts are from those ROUTINES we live by.

Routines have their place, and they are important to our well-being (goals here). But if you want to have different experiences which lead to different feelings you must change your routine. I personally like experiencing new things and new people. Why? Because experiences lead to different feelings and new people lead to different perspectives (those that differ from mine). When we have the exact same routine every single day, we have the same repetitive thoughts which leads to the same choices and behaviors. You cannot experience an ‘exciting’ life if you are doing, thinking, and behaving the same way every day. Have you noticed that your emotions do not fluctuate much with your daily routine? They cannot! Your activity remains unchanged and thus, your brain activity remains...unchanged. These habitual behaviors keep us stuck, stuck thinking the same, doing the same, and feeling...the same. And if you think about it these habitual behaviors are

our past—because we did them yesterday

present—we did them today

and future—we will do them tomorrow...unless we change.

I get it, routines are comfortable. Change is uncomfortable and discomfort is not a feeling we crave. But the best thing about discomfort is that it warrants a new way of thinking. It forces you to think differently. Why? Because the experience of discomfort is something your mind had not ‘planned’ for--it was not part of the ‘routine.’ Discomfort can bring new perspectives and remove the limiting beliefs you may have.If you feel enough discomfort, it can propel and motivate you to ‘do’ something out of the (your) ordinary.

I have done a lot of things that I am uncomfortable with, but I am grateful for the experience. My discomfort led me to creating this blog. My discomfort led me to thinking about my life differently. My discomfort led me to behave and experience life differently. As a result, my perspectives, reactions, and behavior have changed. But I did not get here by discomfort alone. Routines helped me navigate this new journey as well. I was and am diligent about my well-being, so I make sure I practice taking care of mind and body every day.

My desire to think, experience and have new feelings supersede the humdrum enigma of the daily routine.

With that said, what can you do differently to evoke a change in your daily routine that will help propel an exciting ‘new’ life for you? Give voice to your thoughts below!