Get Inspired

Most people live life according to routine. They tend to: wake up at the same time; read the same books; visit the same websites; go to the same gym; ride the same route to work; eat the same thing for lunch; wear the same clothes; go to the same supermarket; speak to the same people; do the same things to relax.

Every now and again they might do something different: take a holiday; start a new job; try a fresh haircut. Mostly though? Life is familiar. And there’s a certain comfort and beauty in that.

But sometimes all that sameness can feel stifling. And it can get in the way of making conscious choices about how to Live Life Well. Because when life is a bowl, it can be difficult to see beyond it, to even contemplate an alternative.

If you’re feeling stuck and uninspired but you can’t even think about what to do to get back to feeling energised, this might help.

+ Identify Your Bowl

In order to see beyond the bowl, it is necessary to get clear on its parameters. Grab a piece of paper and write down words that capture the activity of your days. Stuff like: work, watch, friends, read, listen, make, travel, exercise, relax.

Then underneath each word take a note of your current activities. Try to flesh out the life you currently live.

+ Go Beyond the Bowl

Then for each heading, try coming up with one or two alternatives. And over the coming weeks, make a conscious effort to try them out.

Your page might start looking something like this:

Work:

• Current: policy/research in a city office, working 8am-6pm
• New: volunteer to start up a new social committee at work, interview a friend who just made a big career leap, ask to work from home one day a week

Watch:

• Current: Netflix dramas, dumb youtube videos on my phone
• New: choose a documentary on a topic I know nothing about, turn screens off one night a week and talk instead, ask friends for recommendations for different stuff to watch

Friends:

• Current: Sister-in-law, neighbours, school friends, a couple of people at work
• New: get back in touch with old friends from old jobs, volunteer at the community garden to meet new people, go to more kids’ school events and talk to other parents, have a party and invite people from my apartment block

Read:

• Current: Historical novels [very occasionally], newspaper online
• New: visit a good bookshop and ask for recommendations in a new genre, subscribe to a different paper, read at least a couple of pages in bed each night

Listen to:

• Current: five podcasts on rotation, radio
• New: change radio stations, buy tickets to a talk I would never normally attend

Eat:

• Current: basic and uninspiring dinners most nights, expensive takeaways at lunch
• New: Google easy family dinners and try a new recipe, sign up for a cooking class, do a dinner-swap with local friends, buy a lunch-box to take food to work

Travel:

• Current: once a year to a resort or on a tour somewhere pretty standard
• New: take more mini-breaks close to home, decide on somewhere out of my comfort zone and go in June

Exercise:

• Current: running on my own, ride to work
• New: sign up for dance classes, running with a group, start boxing, ride a different route to work

Relax:

• Current: go to the pub with friends, hang out with family
•  New: get into nature [eg drive to the beach, bushwalking], painting, go to a different pub

Steps like this can seem really simple and, to be honest, a bit naff. Until you write them down and then actually do them. Actually doing things differently can shift perspectives and reignite long forgotten aspects of self.

Definitely worth a try.

Tags: life-coaching, Melbourne