Do I have a boring life?
Finding joy in routines and embracing small adventures brings balance to daily life. A blend of structure and exploration leads to a fulfilling existence.
We are what we repeatedly do. - Aristotle
Kiki and I were talking a couple of days ago, about creativity. During this conversation, we reached the subject of 'an interesting life'. We live on the other side of the world, which makes everything very interesting and keeps on surprising me, but I'm clearly a creature of habit as well. I love my routine, it provides a stable life that encourages productivity.
Creature of Habit — a person who follows an unvarying routine. “He or she is a creature of habit — he or she keeps to the places they know.
The first question I needed answered. What is boring and what do we classify as being boring?
Boring: adjective /not interesting or exciting: The car ride was really boring.
From my point of view, I don't think my life is boring. It is quite exciting honestly, but it is filled with routines and habits, as you could see in my previous posts about my daily life.
Dries Deconynck
I have certain routines in place that I follow in the short term. Drinking my coffee in the morning for example, whilst getting some work done. Why do I do this? Because I like it. It feels good. Habits become an automatic behavior. I can do it with little to no thought. From getting out of bed and meditating to what and when I eat. My routine is part of who I am.
When you learn a skill, you have to repeat the handling over and over again, until you get it right. That is what our habits do to us as well. Our brain gets better and better at performing a specific action over time. I'm definitely an expert in drinking coffee by now ;).
Is it boring to have repetition in your life?
Positive habits can reduce stress and anxiety by offering a degree of structure and predictability to your everyday life -Barlow
Of course, there are good and bad habits. I'm not going into much detail on what you should or shouldn't do. I think that you can decide that for yourself. But the simple act of having habits is generally a good thing.
As I stated before, repetition, and habits, require less thinking and effort. You can do it automatically, which makes it very efficient. It gives our brain more energy for other tasks. It eradicates making too many decisions, being in doubt, or being paralyzed with all the options presented to you. It makes us better at our habits and small tasks, so we can use our time more effectively and efficiently. This can lead to a better work-life balance.
Doing an activity around the same time every day, or in a similar matter, provides stability and leads to more predictable outcomes. It makes us consistent and develops much-needed discipline and self-control. Because you know what to expect, and having a clear structure in place, reduces uncertainties and stress. In this way, habits create a sense of control and stability.
Habits and routines can lead to a structured and balanced life. It is not bad at all to have them in place, on the contrary, in a lot of prospects it is very beneficial to have and maintain good structures, habits, and routines. Life gets more manageable, they give a sense of safety for our mental health. They are an anchor, if you will, in daily life. They aren't going to make your life boring, but they will provide structure and will help you get things done.
Do I have a happy life?
Most people don't like change. They feel threatened by it. - Phillip Mactaggart
Now that I made sure that my life isn't boring, but rather exciting on the other side of the world, the following question pops up. 'Do I have a happy life?'
I've talked about my passions (or what excites me), and my goals before. They are quite streamlined, luckily for me. You can check them in the following post:
I'm not traveling every day, the thing that most excites me. I live in a big city in Cambodia, everything is still new and I still learn a lot, but sometimes it gets dull, or boring, as well. So how can I bring more excitement (back) into my daily life?
Excitement is the more practical synonym for happiness, and it is precisely what you should strive to chase. It is the cure-all. When people suggest you follow your "passion" or your "bliss," I propose that they are, in fact, referring to the same singular concept: excitement. The question you should be asking isn't, "What do I want?" or "What are my goals?" but "What would excite me?" - Timothy Ferriss
Benefits of exploring
Let's take a trip down memory lane, to when days were usually very exciting. During my childhood, my days were usually filled with a sense of adventure. Exploring a forest, racing through the corridors at school, climbing trees, jumping into puddles, and so on. I wasn't gaining anything by playing around and exploring, I was just curious and enjoyed the activities for what they were: play, without worrying too much about the results.
As the years go on, and we grow up, life goes from being filled with adventure to a structured and predictable existence. This unfortunate process lies at the core of our loss of excitement. Because, as it turns out, that adventure and exploration play a major role in happiness.
This statement is scientifically proven
During an experiment, conducted in 2020, from New York University and the University of Miami, scientists tried to attempt to quantify the effects of approaching the world with a sense of adventure. The over 130 participants got their location tracked using the GPS on their phones.
Over the next several months, the researchers asked the participants how happy, excited, or relaxed they felt. The results were shocking. The participants who explored more were more adventurous by taking off to a wider and more random assortment of places by switching up routes to go to work or trying out new coffee shops rather than sticking to their regular ones - felt happier, more excited, and more relaxed. The scientist concluded that having an adventurous life holds the key to unlocking positive emotions
Benefits of balance
Life is seldom white or black, but grey. It finds balance everywhere it goes. Just like we have to find balance in our lives. A balance between structure, habits, exploration, and adventure. They are all pieces of the puzzle of a happy life.
This last week, I kept my habits, but I introduced some mini-adventures in my day. I drank coffee, just like every morning, but in a different place. I worked a couple of days in a different location and tried some new routes to my apartment and the city center. We ate at a restaurant that was on the 'check-it-out-list' for ages, only to get blown away by the quality of the food. It was delicious! In other words, I kept my habits and routines, I just switched them up just enough to have the exploration mindset in my daily life.
It worked out great and I will definitely keep on doing this!