Sarahritchie17 A couple days ago, my boyfriend apologized that we haven’t been having many adventures lately. My response was, “What are you talking about?! I cut your hair today.”
Well, really, it was a two-day long haircut that took about 4 hours in total because the electric razor we have is not created for thick Brazilian head-hair, the scissors we have are meant for paper, and the comb we have is pretty much doll size. All that, and I’ve never cut hair before. How can you not call that an adventure?
Of course it’s not traveling the world, but if you reframe it, it’s still an adventure.
On Friday, I listened to Optimal Living Daily podcast episode 1596: How To Use A Traveler’s Mindset To Create Joy In Daily Life by Kat Medina on Pursuing Happiness. It got me thinking about how we can find adventures in our own backyards or apartments even when and especially when we’re ordered to stay home.
Remember when we were kids and played games like ‘house’ and ‘the floor is lava?’ When we acted out scenes in Barbie dream houses and had Monstertruck shows with Hot Wheels? We didn’t need to travel to Europe or Southeast Asia or, really, any further than our own neighborhood to find adventure.
Here are 5 mind shifts to help us tap into that child-like imagination and find adventure in the ordinary:
1. Instead of thinking about what we can’t do right now, think about what we now have opportunity for.
I set up a virtual cocktail hour with two of my best friends, and it was the best idea. It was so wonderful to see their faces, and it gave me something to look forward to all week. During the call, we questioned why we’d never done it before. There are things we have the time and space for now that we didn’t realize before, even if that time was there regardless. I challenge you to find those opportunities and remember that when one door closes, other ones open; you just have to find them.
2. Instead of wearing PJ’s all day, get dressed and do your hair.
If you want to be comfy, I totally support that, but you have to admit there is some novelty in dressing up every once in a while. Dress up and have a date night in. Serve yourself a 3-course meal then play some music and dance around your living room. It’s also perfectly acceptable to have a dance party by yourself if you’re home alone.
3. Instead of trying to keep everything normal, accept that it’s not and embrace something new.
When major changes happen in the world, there is only so much you can control. While I’m a huge advocate for sticking with you’re routine, you should also try to embrace change and take advantage of the gifts it can bring. There is so much opportunity to learn something new right now. So many people are going online to share unique skills. Two things I’ve picked up recently are roller blading and cutting hair (which I don’t plan to do again; but it’s a good life skill, and I did shockingly better than I thought I would). Another thing we’ve been doing is ordering food on Uber eats. I realize this is a common thing, but it hadn’t been for us. Last week, we ordered from a place called Tacos & Beer that we have walked right past before and might not have ever gone into. It was actually pretty good too.
4. Instead of missing physical travel, let your mind wander.
Pick up a book you’ve been meaning to read or write in a journal. If you’re reading this, you have a device that can access online books, and you probably have a notes app if you don’t have a pen and paper. No excuses.
5. Instead of scrolling through Netflix or social media all afternoon, challenge yourself to find a better way to spend that time.
See how low you can get your screen time. We are so quick to turn to electronics when we are stuck inside. Are you completely dependent on your devices, or can you leave them in the other room for an hour or two? What conversations might you get into with the people you’re “stuck” with if no one gets to have their phone on them for a couple hours? What ideas would you come up with? How productive might you be when you stop running to your distractions instead of embracing what’s present.
I hope this post serves you and helps you to reframe and recognize the adventures and moments of excitement in the ordinary. I would love to hear about the ways you are finding adventure in your everyday. Comment or message me @genuinesunshineblog on Instagram.
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Cheers!
Sarah
