Not my town but the adjacent town to the south of me has a food pantry garden and they also compost there. Otherwise known as heaven to my eyes. I volunteer there as a compost master candidate.
One more: take a shower. The sensations and self care are very healing. Also, I have had many, many epiphanies in the shower. Now I keep a waterproof notepad in there.
A round of EFT tapping — a quick way to change energy
Only ONE minute of meditation
Dance to one song
Make a cup of tea (mmm, warmth!)
Read a poem
Weird one: go around your house, and intentionally name things wrong. Touch the wall and say, “Plant.“ Look at the chair and say, “Clown.“ Go around and give yourself permission to say absolutely the wrong names for things so that you mix up your brain wiring. There’s something so ridiculous about this it can really shift my energy quickly!
Love the names thing wrong exercise! Probably gets you laughing, right? Have you tried laughter yoga? Initially it felt contrived to me, but I can really get a good laugh going and it opens up all the energy centers!
I did a weird practice once that had sections where you laugh for fifteen minutes, cry for fifteen minutes, scream for fifteen minutes, then dance for fifteen minutes. It was epic!
Native Americans have comic sacred clowns that do opposites like ride a horse backwards, spiritually invigorates. Power to people. You’re on right track. Or look up a word in dictionary like entropy or boredom and see where that goes.
Guerrilla repairs: I pick up broken furniture curb finds, take them home and use wood glue to make any repairs plus a bit of cleaning. I place item on my curb and it’s usually gone before I turn around. Very satisfying to save moderately sized pieces of furniture with a bit of patience and wood glue.
What worked for me well was to simply take an unplanned day off, in the middle of the week, go to a park, watch the old people, the small kids and the birds. No books or podcasts. Just observation and introspection. Rewarding energy.
I love that, Ioana. Used to being constantly stimulated, it feels great to unplug and just look around. Listen. Smell. Pay more attention. I've been trying to walk slower so I can pay attention to the small things and the things I've never noticed on streets I've walked down a hundred times.
Love this. This is why I ride a scooter. My fave is smelling laundry in the dryer—those Bounce chemical sheets smell lovely on a spring or summer ride.
Pet the cat. Or the horse. Or the dog, or guinea pig, or gorilla (but don't interrupt their gardening). In my case, petting the cat(s) is kinda my default. They "help" me meditate and do yoga in the morning, (especially Beau who is convinced that Cat stretch should involve an actual cat...), but the purring cancels out a multitude of sins ;-)
These are all fantastic ideas for when you're feeling stuck! I use many of these, and there's a bunch (like guerrilla gardening) that I'm now keen to try!
Three things I would add:
1. Write a haiku about something you can see outside
2. Color or draw something, even if it's just making random marks on a piece of scratch paper
So many wonderful suggestions here, Chris. When I start "going negative" and need a reset, I try to get out of my head and into by body. My go-tos are breathing practices (like 4-7-8 or box breathing), walking or any movement, or getting under some cold water.
I love the suggestions here of getting out of your usual routine and adding some variety -- that's something I'm trying to do more regularly. Thanks for writing!
You actually covered all the things I do to shake myself up when I'm in a rut! Taking a walk is my #1 go-to... moving my body and being in the rhythm of walking is so helpful for dislodging stuckness. Thanks for the list, Chris!
I now kinda want to see gorillas gardening around town. That seems majestic.
Also, add using your imagination to dream up silly and absurd things to the list because that might just be a million smile idea.
I just requested On Guerrilla Gardening from the library!
Not my town but the adjacent town to the south of me has a food pantry garden and they also compost there. Otherwise known as heaven to my eyes. I volunteer there as a compost master candidate.
Love this.
I love everything about this comment! Gorillas are one of my favorite animals to draw and silliness is my specialty. Thank you for this inspiration!
One more: take a shower. The sensations and self care are very healing. Also, I have had many, many epiphanies in the shower. Now I keep a waterproof notepad in there.
Waterproof notepad: brilliant!
shower epiphanies are unmatched!
Yes totally agree. Water and creativity, relaxed.
Hot showers are my go to for sleep hacks. Even in summer.
Sing! 🙂
YES. This has done more for my mental health than almost every other form of exercise. And it is free and beautiful.
A round of EFT tapping — a quick way to change energy
Only ONE minute of meditation
Dance to one song
Make a cup of tea (mmm, warmth!)
Read a poem
Weird one: go around your house, and intentionally name things wrong. Touch the wall and say, “Plant.“ Look at the chair and say, “Clown.“ Go around and give yourself permission to say absolutely the wrong names for things so that you mix up your brain wiring. There’s something so ridiculous about this it can really shift my energy quickly!
Love the names thing wrong exercise! Probably gets you laughing, right? Have you tried laughter yoga? Initially it felt contrived to me, but I can really get a good laugh going and it opens up all the energy centers!
I did a weird practice once that had sections where you laugh for fifteen minutes, cry for fifteen minutes, scream for fifteen minutes, then dance for fifteen minutes. It was epic!
Native Americans have comic sacred clowns that do opposites like ride a horse backwards, spiritually invigorates. Power to people. You’re on right track. Or look up a word in dictionary like entropy or boredom and see where that goes.
I tried it and it made me laugh! Mission accomplished.
Awesome! It makes me laugh too! :)
Ha!! Fun, I’ve got to try this. Sometimes I do it unintentionally. Will have to try it intentionally.
Awesome
Guerrilla repairs: I pick up broken furniture curb finds, take them home and use wood glue to make any repairs plus a bit of cleaning. I place item on my curb and it’s usually gone before I turn around. Very satisfying to save moderately sized pieces of furniture with a bit of patience and wood glue.
You give me faith in humanity.
Thanks Matthew, great list.
What worked for me well was to simply take an unplanned day off, in the middle of the week, go to a park, watch the old people, the small kids and the birds. No books or podcasts. Just observation and introspection. Rewarding energy.
I love that, Ioana. Used to being constantly stimulated, it feels great to unplug and just look around. Listen. Smell. Pay more attention. I've been trying to walk slower so I can pay attention to the small things and the things I've never noticed on streets I've walked down a hundred times.
Love this. This is why I ride a scooter. My fave is smelling laundry in the dryer—those Bounce chemical sheets smell lovely on a spring or summer ride.
Pet the cat. Or the horse. Or the dog, or guinea pig, or gorilla (but don't interrupt their gardening). In my case, petting the cat(s) is kinda my default. They "help" me meditate and do yoga in the morning, (especially Beau who is convinced that Cat stretch should involve an actual cat...), but the purring cancels out a multitude of sins ;-)
These are all fantastic ideas for when you're feeling stuck! I use many of these, and there's a bunch (like guerrilla gardening) that I'm now keen to try!
Three things I would add:
1. Write a haiku about something you can see outside
2. Color or draw something, even if it's just making random marks on a piece of scratch paper
3. Dance!
Yes!
Oooh Haiku!!! Great one!!
Take a nap. Outside preferably.
Nap!!! Why do I always forget this option? Such a good one!
So many wonderful suggestions here, Chris. When I start "going negative" and need a reset, I try to get out of my head and into by body. My go-tos are breathing practices (like 4-7-8 or box breathing), walking or any movement, or getting under some cold water.
I love the suggestions here of getting out of your usual routine and adding some variety -- that's something I'm trying to do more regularly. Thanks for writing!
Cook something new. Doesn't have to be challenging, just delicious.
Also, dance for 1 minute to wildly inappropriate-for-age music.
Yes!
Hammer time!
Nice list! I’ll add visit a farmer’s market.
I would add: Cuddle with your pet. 😊
You actually covered all the things I do to shake myself up when I'm in a rut! Taking a walk is my #1 go-to... moving my body and being in the rhythm of walking is so helpful for dislodging stuckness. Thanks for the list, Chris!
Chris this was a lovely list. Thank you for the suggestions. 😊
I love so many of these suggestions! Just went on a walk with my dog in the chilly Portland sunshine, and I feel recharged ☀️