"I like it when somebody gets excited about something." –J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
When you’re busy running through you usual daily routine, even when you’re purposeful about scheduling your day, your days and activities can begin to run together. Life can feel like you’re trapped in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day. Dread sets in. You need some excitement! (If you haven’t seen Groundhog Day, it’s a great, slow winter weekend kind of movie. Let me know in the comments below if you watch it)
As creatures of habit, though, our routines are also comforting. This paradox creates a struggle between longing to live a more exciting life and resisting too much excitement for fear of disturbing the comfortable.
What’s the answer? I’m not sure I have it entirely figured out, but one solution is to be intentional about making excitement a part of your daily routine. Don’t just long for it or wait for it. Plan for it! When you’re scheduling your day plant something throughout to be excited about.
Here are some tips to help you create the habit of building excitement into each day so that you can enjoy the comfort of routine without waking up each morning feeling like Phil Connors trapped in a time loop forced to relive the same day over and over again.
Define What Makes Your Life Exciting
I think of anticipation, thrill, adventure, challenge, and fun. However, what you and I anticipate, find adventurous, challenging, thrilling, or fun overall, is likely different.
Also, what’s exciting during one season of life may be less exciting at another point. For instance, at age 22, excitement for many is graduating from college and starting an entry-level position to advance their career. At age 37, with two kids, a dog, and a mortgage, it can be a thrill to leave the house alone for a few hours to walk around Target. Exploring the answer to ‘what makes YOUR life exciting’ in this season, and for this day, is an exciting adventure in and of itself.
Excitement can be on a larger scale, like a vacation or a simple daily item to look forward to. Tonight is pizza and movie night for me. I AM EXCITED. I don’t have to cook or clean up dishes. It’s a simple small item that I’ve planted into this day to anticipate. (I literally love pizza.)
I challenge you to do a quick brain dump of all the items that come to your mind when you think of the feeling of excitement. Break them up into big things like vacations and simple items like trying a new creamer in your coffee. Share your list in the comments below. You may have some ideas to help someone else who’s stuck in a Groundhog Day rut.
An exciting life doesn’t just happen to you. Don’t just sit back and wait for it to fall in your lap. Be intentional about making your life more interesting and fun.
Try this: Each morning before getting out of bed, think about something you’ll do that day that gets you excited to start your day. It might be seeing a friend, going to dinner, or wearing a new outfit. Whatever it is to help you get excited and motivated for the day ahead. If nothing comes to mind, get excited that you get to jump out of bed and sit down to plan something out.
This week I took it a step further and planted a small item into each part of my day to be excited about — morning, afternoon & evening. Some days there’s a natural cycle of something landing on your calendar to be excited about, but often you have to be intentional to plant excitement into your calendar when scheduling your day.
You don’t have to do something dramatic to make your day exciting. Everyday indulgences, kind gestures, experiences, and daily routines and habits can take an ordinary day and turn it into a memorable day filled with moments of joy. Make it simple. Isn’t it the still, small moments, sensations, and our interactions with others that mean the most anyway?
Simple pleasures aren’t hard to come by. Try to think in moments instead of grand events. My one-year-old grandson Price comes to stay with me at least one day every week. I enjoy the whole day with him, of course, but something I get excited about every time he walks in the door is how he recognizes me and how excited he is to see me. He always has a big, warm smile, and recently he’s been running to me with his arms outstretched. I get the biggest, most loving hug, and then he pats me on the back. I’m done; right at that moment, I don’t need anything else for the day.
How about you?
Do you have moments like that that you can use to plant into your day? Here’s your chance to be creative and learn more about yourself and what simple pleasures you enjoy.
Small, fresh changes can create a new and exciting outlook on your day and your life. Here are a few benefits of making this part of your daily routine that may surprise you.
- prompt creative thinking.
- learn more about yourself.
- better recognize what makes you happy.
- likely become a more engaging person.
- become more open to new experiences & learning new skills.
- build new habits.
- grow in confidence.
Shake things up! A more exciting life (or possibly just recognizing the one you have)can be as easy as one new daily habit away.
For those days you’re finding it especially difficult to come up with something exciting to plant into your day, download the list below of ‘Simple Things to Get Excited About’ to help generate fresh ideas!
I’d love to continue helping you along this journey as you become more intentional about scheduling your day and getting to really know yourself. Comment below, email me, shoot me a DM on Instagram, or simply subscribe below for more of my tips on getting there! Let’s walk this journey together.
