Day In Day Out
It’s hard to find inspiration when life feels pretty straightforward. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, work, come home from work, eat some more food, wind down, go to sleep.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Routines are not sexy. You don’t see anyone posting on Instagram about how jacked up they are to eat that granola bar as they rush out the door to barely make it to work on time because they hit the “snooze” button more times than a Blackjack dealer.
Novelty is what everyone is after. Double-dipping with social media references, it’s almost guaranteed that what you’ll find is a composition of trendy, flashy, fancy, “wish you were here” display that makes you feel like you’re pretty lame. Now, I’m not against you staying at a private villa resort while taking yoga classes and receiving daily massages next to a beautiful body of water, but it’s also good to remember that what tends to get shared is what we want people to see. We’re prone to display things we’re proud of and much less so with things we’re not. Some might call it “keeping a good image” or even make some bogus biological argument that we are, “ensuring we’re still in with the herd.”
You could also just call it pride…
Let’s call it pride.
So, what does one do when faced with the daily drab dilemma? I wouldn’t say there’s an immediate antibiotic to lack of newness, but I’d venture to say there are some things that might be useful to think about or try:
Practice Gratitude
I know it sounds cliche, but seriously…applying this can be golden. There are more than a handful of days where I’m bored out of my mind while sitting in our apartment, and it can become toxic when bitterness and resentment start to build from this. But when you start to think about the fact that you’re in an apartment, there’s an immediate shift. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself while brooding over your daily grind, you get to practice a purposeful exercise in remembering what you’re grateful for.
Redefine Focus
At the core of being troubled with a “boring life” is the even greater issue of being greatly envious of someone else’s life. When we constantly compare what someone else has with what we have, we always find things we don’t have. Comparison never highlights what you’re glad to have…it inevitably points to holes that we feel we need to fill with utmost urgency.
C.S. Lewis once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.” When we focus on what we don’t have, it’s inevitable that we’ll be continuously bitter about it and, in turn, become more resentful of our lives in general. Instead, when we think of ourselves less, we have the capacity to take in what’s happening in our lives, who’s living in our lives, and how we can gain a new perspective on these things. Sure, you may not love the fact that your laundry has already piled higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, but you also can come to the realization that you have lots of different clothes that you get to pick from. It may not be that exciting to go that not so great job, but it sure beats not having one.
Appreciate
Appreciate means, “recognize the full worth of.” It sounds simple, but there’s a couple of things to consider. First, the definition itself implies that we don’t always recognize the full worth of something or someone. Casual conversations may be a daily occurrence, but when was the last time they were appreciated for what they truly add in terms of value to our lives? The long commute home my give you a chance to appreciate just how valuable it is that you have a transportation infrastructure to get from one place to another.
The other thought with this is the factor of time. Appreciation is slow, thoughtful, and quite an attentive task. You don’t sprint through an art gallery or a wine tasting tour; you slow down and engage with what’s happening in the moment. Appreciation, then, requires a sort of unplugging from what many typical Americans would call a normal routine of tasks, to-do lists, and bookings through calendars. It’s not that any of these are bad in and of themselves, but they tend to operate in a manner that’s contrary to one where you can “recognize the full worth of” things.
Just some thoughts to consider, then:
- When was the last time you stopped to take stock in what or whom you’re grateful for? If it’s people, do they know?
- How often do you compare your life situation with that of others, especially others who “have more?”
- Have you taken the time to appreciate what you do have?
Proverbs 14: 30 says, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Undoubtedly, jealousy and lack of gratitude produce nothing but toxin, but a person content with their “day in day out” routine is a person who has “a heart at peace.”
By the way, if you are by chance on a private island getting daily massages next to a beautiful body of water while getting certified as a yoga instructor, good for you…just don’t send me any pictures. I’m practicing.
