Want Life to Excite You Again? Brush Your Teeth the Wrong Way.

Ever drive home after work and end up in your driveway with complete blackout of the time between work and home? You were on autopilot. You drive the same way every day, so much that you could almost do it with your eyes closed- although I do not recommend it.

But yet you did, in a way. You drove home with your mind closed.

We are creatures of habit. We tend to choose the familiar- shop at the same store, buy the same brands, drive the same route. We even brush our teeth the same way every morning!

But when we fall into this comfortable habit train, we stop seeing things while we just move on autopilot. We are the opposite of present, we are so far elsewhere that we do not even have a memory on how we got home! It is as if our minds are so damn bored that they were forced to conjure up an adventure to counteract the mundane of our same ole' daily existence.

I am guilty of staying too long in a toxic relationship because even the unhappy now felt safer than an unknown future. Many times I made mental plans to leave, but it always seemed easier to stay than finding the strength to face the unknown.

Change is always difficult, but change is a natural occurrence, and we only suffer when we stand in its way.

We feel comfortable and safe and know what we are getting when we settle, so we overlook the fact that we are unhappy.

So we can continue to get from point A to point B on the known and predictible route and let our minds create a far more exciting scenario for sheer survival purposes, or we can explore a new route, and open ourselves to experience different opportunities and adventures.

Ones our minds don't have to take a vacation from.

So how do we do this?

Be Aware of the Mundane

Start by noticing all the things you do every day out of habit, and acknowledging how they make you feel. Start with the little things like your morning routine. Your am grooming habits, breakfast, and even coffee- do you make the same kind of coffee the same way each morning? Do you make the same breakfast each day because it's faster? Really consider how you feel while doing these habitual things.

Experiment

After you have identified what you do the same, identify ways you can do the things differently yet achieve the same, or better results. Try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. It is more difficult than you think! You may find you reach spots differently, but it'll surely make you laugh! Try a new shower routine, or a new brand of coffee or breakfast. Drive a different way. Add something like 20 pushups.

Branch out and start doing things differently in other parts of your life. Instead of your normal Saturday night Netflix bingewatch, go see a local production or check out a hot new spot. The possibilities are endless!

The most important thing here is to be mindful of how each thing makes you feel.

Continue to switch up your normal paths. Add new things into your normal everyday life. Try things you normally wouldn't. Try a new recipe for a foreign dish for dinner. Experiment with a new hobby. Take a roadtrip one weekend without a plan.

The point of all this is to really get to know yourself; by changing your routine you will discover things about yourself you otherwise wouldn't. You will also become more mindful, and you will learn what excites you, new things that intrigue you, and bring the joy and excitement back into life. And your world will expand.

When you become more mindful, you become more present, and each experience in your life will be richer and more fulfilling.

Brush your teeth the wrong way. It'll give you an insight into creating a life your mind does not have to take a vacation from.

Images via Pexels

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