Shake It Up!

When I’d shuttle from cubicle to office, and back again, I used to bring the same pictures, same award certificates and same plants to each location. When I had my “stuff” in its proper places, there was some sense of comfort, like I’d moved but hadn’t changed. Along with all that detritus came the same ideas, the same preconceptions about people and ideas, and the same me. No wonder I was bored! Change fosters new ideas, new solutions, new attitudes and new ways of looking at problems. Change is refreshing, intimidating, challenging and rewarding, often all of that at the same time.

Sales people complain about falling into a “rut” or reaching a “plateau.” What we’re really complaining about is the absence of challenge and new ideas. To jumpstart you from boredom, try changing your physical surroundings and habits. Here are five things you can change that will benefit you physically, emotionally and intellectually.

• Read historical biographies all the time? Read a month of science fiction.
• Lift weights every evening? Try yoga three mornings a week.
• Eat doughnuts for breakfast? Go sugar-free five days in a row.
• Watch television at night? Meditate for 20 minutes before you sleep.
• Have kids? Play kickball with them, and make up new rules. Don't have kids? Borrow some.

Break old patterns. Any patterns. This is “being outside the box” versus just thinking outside it.