A Daily Dose of Something That Scares You

Tomorrow, on January 25, 2018, the sun will rise at about 7:14 A.M. My alarm will go off at 5:00 A.M.; you see, tomorrow is arm day. I need 45 minutes for my workout, followed by a ten minute shower, and twenty-five minutes to get ready. By 'get ready,' I mean brush my teeth and retainer, dash through my skin care routine, get dressed, and make sure I wash my glasses. Now, it's six-twenty in the morning. I grab my backpack and lunch, hastily make some spinach and scrambled eggs for a to-go breakfast, slip on my Crocs (don't judge me) and run out of the door. I'm in the car by 6:30 every week day. The rest of my carpool has joined me by 6:40, and we arrive to school (on a day without traffic) at about 7:20. School starts at 7:40, so I quickly gobble up my spinach and eggs, review my AP Human Geography note-cards, and fill up my water bottle. From 7:40 to 12:35 on the dot, I'm in classes. Then there is a forty-five minute lunch break. At 1:20, class resumes. After a final hour and a half of learning, it is 2:55 - time to go home! I meet my carpool group in the outdoor rotunda, and we're all loaded in the car by 3:05. I'm typically the last to be dropped off, between 3:45 and 4:10. What do I do then? Brew some tea, wash my face, and get started on homework. Vegetable prep for dinner starts at 5:00, and whatever I'm cooking that night is on the table by 6:00. Then it's back to homework and studying. At 9:00, I usually do some yoga, pack my lunch for the next day, and watch a show. And at ten? It's time to get ready for bed, again. The cycle continues.

Now, my friend, I don't blame you in the slightest if you skipped the above paragraph, because I'm sure it's extraordinarily dull. I certainly think it is. For one, mine isn't exactly an exciting schedule. For another, it's really monotonous, seeing as I engage in it five out of seven days a week. Think about that. If you're anything like me, you're using five sevenths of every week to do practically the same thing. How awful. And then the weekend rolls around - what are we to do then? It's all too easy to choose relaxation. After a chaotic week, a few hours of lounging on a couch reading a book, drawing, watching a movie, or doing something to decompress sounds really fantastic. It makes sense, and it's certainly important to unwind. But my point is this: as soon as we've relaxed, we are loaded with work again on Mondays. We have gotten ourselves into patterns. Cycles. Routines.

And they are crazy boring.

I'm no exception to this. As I'm sure you noticed in the first paragraph, my school days are nearly identical. Because I wake up so early Monday through Friday, I tend to sleep in on Saturdays. Then I work out, cook something, and... do more homework. Sundays are for chores, grocery shopping, meal prepping, and... finishing my weekend homework. My little sister Abby loves to tell me that I have no life. I used to laugh this off. But now, I'm being to think that she might be possibly sort of very right.

My name is Maya, and I live in the United States of America. Here, we value hard work and lots of work. You are expected to put in the effort in order to reap the desired results. We work more than we play and we are stressed out (really, really stressed out). We don't get enough sleep or take enough care of ourselves; this, dear reader, is extraordinarily wrong. Perseverance and devotion to one's job (mine is learning and going to school) are very important, just as stability is a crucial constant in our lives. There is nothing wrong with studying hard for your next math test or following a regimented schedule. You are allowed to set an alarm, and have a designated bed time - but simultaneously, we must remember that patterns are not always the way we ought to function.

Meg Selig from Psychology Today provides us with a little bit more insight into this issue: "A routine is a series of habits. If you've got a good routine set up -- say a morning routine of breakfast-exercise-shower-dress-commute, you've freed yourself from a lot of small decisions that could slow you down or capture valuable brain-space... You can now go on autopilot and still accomplish your goals..." (Routines: Comforting or Confining?). It is undoubtedly okay to resort to what Selig refers to as "autopilot" - this state is highly convenient, and is vital when it comes to getting everything on your to-do list done between sunrise and sunset. Hopefully, your established routines will also spare you a bit of stress, too. There is no need to worry about what should come next when you know what does. Human tend to enjoy predictability and order. Chaos can just be too much to handle sometimes, and it's best to minimize it as much as possible. However, not all of this chaos, not all of this disruptive change, is bad.

The article "Why (and How) You Should Change Up Your Routine, Even if it's Working" explains that while routines can be comfortable, "there are benefits to mixing things up that you don't get if you stick to the same methods... any time you force yourself to make a change... you encourage your brain to make new connections... Routines can run on idle, but changing our habits force your brain to pay attention and learn what you're doing more carefully." I kind of think about day to day routines like I think about workouts - if you are doing the exact same leg day, every day, with the same number of reps and weights, you will reach a point when your body is no longer challenged; it will have become so accustomed to the singular exercise that nothing will change. You won't get stronger. Literally nothing new will happen. However, if you integrate some long walks into your leg day, new exercises, better form, or up your added weights, things will look significantly different.

Your brain is very similar in this way. It was not built to do the exact same thing every day. You didn't wake up today to be mediocre. Challenge, change, and a little bit of chaos are actually good for your mind! Not only will your brain begin to make new connections, but I can guarantee that you will feel more invigorated and excited about each brand new day. Just like no one wants to eat the same sandwich for lunch all year, the brain does not crave the same activities. Rattle up your life a bit. Throw yourself outside of your comfort zones; despite the fact that comfort zones are full of the familiar, and are places we feel content in, nothing amazing never happens in them. There is no growth. There is no flourishing. But if you have a daily dose of a little something fresh? Something new? Perhaps try a new exercise, whip up a recipe you've discovered, take a piano lesson, go to bed early. Watch yourself bloom.

Personally, I have decided to take this mindset slightly further as we continue along with the splendid year of 2019; it is actually one of my new year's resolutions to do something every day that scares me. I'm not talking about sky diving every other Monday, or speeding down the highway. You don't have to eat raw peppers or do anything remotely drastic. The little things will suffice. By illustration: I have a bit of an issue with social anxiety - I tend to avoid hanging out with people outside of school, or texting certain people a lot, because it honestly terrifies me. If I do decide to attend the sleepover, go to the party, or watch the choir concert, I actually feel physically sick. The butterflies in my stomach are more like dragons, violent and breathing fire through my veins. But as soon as I've arrived, I'm perfectly okay. I (usually) have a brilliant time! This year, I am working on conquering my fears while mixing up the order of my day-to-day life. By no means am I attempting to alter my introverted nature, but I am instead making a conscious effort each and every day to say 'yes' to invites. To spend time with people instead of staying home alone, working.

It's not easy to add that daily dose of something that scares you. It's nothing like Mary Poppins' acclaimed spoonfuls of sugar. On the other hand, however, shifting a repetitive structure is a lot healthier for you that a spoonful of sugar - so is stepping outside of your comfort zone. I promise that it will help the tedious, unvarying elements of your long school or work days seem more bearable. And on top of that - the end result is far more lasting and much, much sweeter.

Have a wonderful evening, everyone. We've almost reached the weekend! You're supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Carpe Diem,
Maya

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash, Photo by Annette Schuman on Unsplash
Photo by Jeff Sheldon on Unsplash, Photo by Adam Muise on Unsplash
Photo by Drop the Label Movement on Unsplash, Photo by Raka Rachgo on Unsplash,
Photo by Artem Bali on Unsplash