{ Header picture: A spiral animation generated from my personal animation library “Panim”}
Sometimes (I guess, often), it just feels that the life has become dull. Like the question of whether I am living my life to its fullest. If there is really something meaningful to the existence itself, to find something for self satisfaction. Maybe we are sleepwalking through our routine, monotone streams of life. The hectic days when you are stressed out and feel like you could sleep for eternity. Maybe we are in a rut. I don’t know, At least, I have formed few habits, out of which calisthenics is one! I have started to feel my body and the mind. I can tell if there is no sync between them. Sometimes there are lazy times when I don’t do exercises and just go out and eat whatever I want. But most of the time, I love the idea that your body should be in your total physical control . I have regularized my sleep cycle to have 8 hours of sleep per day. I have really experimented on this. In the past, I was only able to hit 7 hours of cycle, but then used to doze off through out the day, most of the time phasing out and getting lost (although I phase out these days too). I tried doing polyphasic sleep cycles. But couldn’t due to its extreme difficultiness.
I have changed my diets, as a result of which I have lost interest in normal junk foods out there in the wild. I am health conscious. I am trying to reduce my caffeine intake, hoping to get rid of my addiction one day. I have upped my walking game. I literally feel I can walk anywhere in this world. At least, the paths I can walk, that I can feel!
So, here are few things I have tried to list for anyone who feel inspired enough to read the former paragraph. Maybe they might make sense. Maybe they don’t at all. I don’t know. The choice is just yours. This is coming from the guy who is ever anxious regarding huge existential crisis rendered. The guy who phases out often into his mind cave, trying to make sense out from unfathomable life stream. The same guy who used to think that he had full control over his life. Nevertheless, to such placable life, at least there are few things you might relate. Or might be completely out of sync with you.
Form A Habit
Start with the greater “small” stuff and actions — things that might be “good” for you in the future. Do it on routine basis. In the long run, you will feel proud.
For me, I have formed few habits that weren’t in my daily lifestyle a year ago. I started doing home workouts and calisthenics. I started eating healthy foods. Although I am not used to reading “long” books (there might not be the concept of “long” for any books, I guess), I read a very long read daily — mostly about philosophy, computer science, life, history, etc. (For this, I have been using same app for nearly 6 years now). And as I write this, I am pretty sure I am happy. (Perhaps, that’s an illusion.)
Eventually, there will always be a time when these newly-formed habits become same old “routine”. In that case, you may form new, if bored! Grow!
Perserverance Is The Key
Persistence matters. Try. You may not know what’s going to happen until you have seen the result yourself. I don’t have much to say about this! It all boils down to your enthusiasm to be persistent enough! Time tells all the tales.
Try To Do “Same Routine” In A Different Way
If you feel you are bored with same old routine in your life, try some new ways to do the same old tasks! For me, I try to break the monotonic “daily” life, by trying different ways to make it interesting. Take a detour while going to office/college/home! Change the restaurant while going out for lunch! Spend weekends in different places! If you are a into programming like me (kind of coughs), try refactoring your old code with new paradigms you have learnt! It’s fun! (Although I am in the verge of losing interest in everything.)
Never Stop Learning
I think, this is the ultimate factor that matters! Learn and grow! You may try learning new things daily! Learning new english word, or new personality figure! This might ultimately be your habit! Be willing to learn anytime! If you feel your daily routine is eating you alive, learning new thing is some Google searches away! You can listen to new podcasts daily! Watch short videos that make you think “Woah! Why didn’t I think of that?”. Or perhaps “Woah! Why didn’t I know this my whole life?”
Try mind puzzles! Read interesting articles! Watch new series! This way you will always be wanting to close the loop daily. In fact, this is called Closure Effect. There’s this desire and urgency to complete a task, the incompleteness of which might give you nightmare. You can factor in this effect to make your life interesting! Write 2 sentences about anything! I am sure, you will have this lust to complete the writing about the matter somehow!
Willingness To Take Break
Sometimes, you are in the middle of your work and this notion hits you really hard. The thought of “Why am I doing this?”. “Man! This sucks now…”
Just take a break!
Go out and wander!
Travel during the break!
If you can’t travel, just chill in your room and do not think of the work!
Have caffee (or tea?).
Drink water.
Maybe, go to theater to watch movie!
Go out to attend various events like talks shows, conferences, poetry nights. That might help!
Stop scrolling through the aimless feed in the social media! Have some definite goal on why you are logged in to that platform.
Above all, you need is a break! The one that will re-energize you!
Track Your Life
This is a controversial topic which I don’t want to dive deeper. :) For me it works! Tracking your life helps you to understand your lifestyle better! Track your daily expenses! Calculate savings! Track your eating habits! Track your sleeping patterns! Track the time you have felt more alive than better! Track your health status.
Write a journal! Shouldn’t be on daily basis! But write whenever you are feeling low or high! It helps you in the long run, when you look at the things you had written — the time, memories and emotions at the time of writing! You will know what has changed and what hasn’t.
It’s been around 1.5 years since I have taken on my personal habit of one selfie per day to see how I have changed through the course of time for my future self to look back at.
I have also introduced a small habit of tracking all the expenses daily. BTW, I have written my own code to do some analysis on this. coughs
So?
The choice is yours. Not a compulsion. I have jolted some things from my experience through out situations. I guess this will make you feel better (in some ways)!
PS: Damn! There are so much “!” (exclamation) symbol here! This is just to emphasize everything and be more provocative…
Anyways! The way I see it, there is actually no escape. All you can do is try yourself to go out into the more open spaces of your mind. Almost noone will do anything remarkable in life. Almost. Unless you are those people who will going to impact the humanity and the existence of Homo Sapiens! Other than that, you can at least try impacting your own self, or perhaps the people around you. If that’s not your cup of coffee (tea?), it’s okay. Embrace the incompleteness in you. Embrace the faults you have. Have no regrets. Maybe that’s how our lives are. You are you to your fullest. As, Alan Watts says:
Because it’s very difficult to find out while you’re with other people. The reason is other people are busy all the time telling you who you are, in many many ways — by the laws they impose on you, by the behavior riots they set upon, by the things they tell you and by the facts that they always call you by your name — and by the fact that you live among people and always in the state of chattering.