Hop Off The Hamster Wheel And Start Adding Spontaneity To Your Life, Because Sticking To The Same Routines Can Actually Damage Your Mental Health
The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer, Katharina Buczek.
Do you ever wake up and feel like you are the star of your very own “Groundhog Day?” Each morning, you probably step out of bed at around the same time before heading downstairs to prep some coffee or tea.
Then, you participate in the same skincare and makeup routine before heading out the door to sit in the same old traffic on your commute to work.
Finally, by the day’s end, you might return home, walk your dog, cook your dinner, and turn on your favorite comfort television show. Around this time of year, mine is “Gilmore Girls.”
Now, this might not sound like that bad of a day. In fact, I’m sure that many people would be grateful to have stable employment with “normal” hours, food in the fridge, and a streaming service like Netflix ready to help them decompress every evening.
But if you have all of these things and still feel unfulfilled, uninspired, or kind of empty inside, you are not overreacting, and you should not feel “ungrateful.”
Instead, this “hamster wheel of life” can take a very real toll on your mental health, no matter what industry you work in or where you live.
Nowadays, high productivity and habit stacking are the touted ideals of our society. It is even quite impossible to go on social media without encountering at least one “daily routine” video– which features the same monotonous tasks completed in the same mindless order every single day.
Don’t get me wrong: routines can be great. The structure can provide people with feelings of stability and consistency and help them maintain valued areas of their lives– for instance, physical health or a clean home.
dariyad – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
However, there is one main reason why people still feel so unfulfilled after completing all of their habits and checking all of the boxes on their to-do lists. I am talking about a lack of spontaneity.
Being Spontaneous Is Not Frivolous
In corporate culture, being spontaneous or even just slightly straying from the normal day-to-day can be viewed as flippant or even irresponsible. We fall victim to the same expectations of ourselves, too– believing that experimenting with new activities or life structures would sound like a good idea if we had “more time” or “more resources.”
The truth, though, is that spontaneity is arguably the most accessible way to start bettering our mental health for a plethora of reasons. So, we have to stop making excuses for pushing off our curiosities and break down the benefits of indulgence in the “new.”
Benefits Of Hopping Off The Hamster Wheel
While answering emails, completing our house chores, and checking off our to-do lists might seem like the most logical and responsible way to run our life, this type of fervent consistency is, first of all, boring. More importantly, though, it can also lead to procrastination and cynicism, which results in major burnout.
One study centered around Austrian and Italian college students even found a link between psychological suffering and low spontaneity.
But, if you decide to implement some elements of surprises into your life, you can actually reap some really therapeutic benefits. When we engage in more creative and spontaneous experiences, a cognitive process known as “divergent thinking” is activated.
This allows us to think outside of the box, feel more comfortable participating in new activities, and generally feel happier and more fulfilled.
Changing up a repetitive routine can also make our days slow down– but in a good way. If you ever feel like weeks are flying by and you are missing out on experiencing life to the fullest, then using your creative brain is necessary.
Each time you try a new activity, your brain has to pay attention and learn. This results in time virtually “slowing down” in a way that our routines cannot provide. After all, once we have checked our inboxes or cleaned the bathroom a hundred times over, we no longer have to really think hard about it, right?
So, being spontaneous will actually foster creativity and has even been linked to increasing our brain longevity.
According to one famous neuroscience study known as The Nun Study, it was found that reading, learning new things, working on puzzles, and partaking in other creative activities actually lead to higher brain density and stronger cognition during old age.
And from a mental health perspective, the same is true. As we engage in more activities and break outside of the mold of our day-to-day lives, we will expand our perspectives and interests.
Then, with this expansion comes even more curiosity, open-mindedness, and motivation to seek out new things.
This cycle can help us feel more “alive,” empowered, and present in our lives. Whether you choose to make new memories, learn new skills, or engage with new people, you will be engaging in a priceless form of self-care.
How To Break The Mold
Spontaneity and routine are often presented as complete opposites of each other. But, the two concepts do not have to compete in your life.
If you have a nine-to-five job, it might not be the best idea to ditch your morning routine completely. At the same time, if you have kids, after-school responsibilities might be non-negotiable.
However, the beauty of mental health is that it is all about balance. Start by finding one area of your life that you can spice up or experiment with every day.
Perhaps you love fitness but literally run on the same treadmill every morning. If so, visit a new hiking trail or join a neighborhood walking group to switch it up.
Likewise, if you cook the same five dinners every single workweek, why don’t you buy a new recipe book or invest in one of the countless meal delivery kits to expand your palette?
Finally, it is important to remember that being “spontaneous” and “curious” does not have to be a time-demanding or expensive affair. You could opt to start journaling between meetings at work or doodling in a sketchbook at the park during your daily dog walk.
These simple acts of kindness toward ourselves can be as small as we need them to be to make them work in our current lives. But don’t write off their duration or size– because these small moments will add up to massive mental health results.
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