
7 Things To Do Over the Weekend to Shift Your Life Into A Higher Gear
Ah, the weekend. The days we’re free to do all the things we wished we could do every other day of the week when the alarm clock blares. Instead of getting up and shaping our first moments of the day toward preparing for work, taking care of the children, letting the dog outside, or checking emails, we dream of doing anything but the usual.
Our thoughts can turn to sleeping in when we usually cannot. If only we could lie in bed to finish off two seasons of a Netflix show. We want to do anything but what our normal routine is and that’s because new things are always more exciting than the usual. It makes sense that during the work week we want to do all sorts of things that we never end up doing when we have the opportunity.
Change from the normal is something we crave, so why not experience what injecting change with intention into our lives can do for us. Perhaps it will make us happier, healthier, more creative, more confident, and all sorts of other wonderful things. Actually, according to science experiencing new things and adjusting our routine does have a very positive impact on almost all areas of our lives including our physical, mental, and emotional health.
Since the weekend is often when we have more freedom in our schedules, it’s a great opportunity to be mindful and do what we can to set ourselves up for success by simply doing something new.
Here are five things that you can consider:
1. Since exercise is so important to our lives, one of the new experiences you should consider making is to get your body moving. If you aren’t regularly working out then choose to go for a walk, try a trial day at a local gym, turn on YouTube and do a yoga or Pilate’s routine. If you do routinely exercise, then do something new like taking a paddle board lesson, a kickboxing class, or simply put on your favorite music and dance your heart out for thirty minutes. Move your body in a new way and it will awaken something that feels good inside of you.
2. Explore your local area as if you are a tourist. Go to a landmark place and do a self-guided tour. Visit a museum, go to an outdoor music performance or a play. Get on the Internet and see what your city, town, or region boasts about to bring tourism dollars to your area and take advantage of living right where people spend tons of money to visit. Looking at your local area through a new lens and taking the time to learn new things will boost your mind and your creative side.
3. Make a deeper connection with your pet, a family member, or a friend. Call up an old friend you haven’t spoken to in years and do more listening than talking and have the intention to make that person feel good. Visit an elderly family member and take them a fruit basket or a meal to warm up later and spend time with them with the intention to make them happy. Turn off the television, put on some relaxing music and play with your pet, brush them, massage your elderly pet’s muscles, do something that will make them happy and give them your undivided attention.
4. Visit a library or a bookstore and get a new book. Read a classic you’ve heard people reference to over and over. Read a book before the movie comes out later this year. Read from a genre you have never been interested in before. Choose a book simply by its cover and don’t read what the book is about, just dive in. Be committed and read the book to explore a new world. Immerse yourself and don’t allow yourself to judge whether you like the story or not, just read and experience the story.
5. Go to the store and pick out a fruit or vegetable that you have never seen or eaten before and try it. Don’t allow yourself to choose whether you like it or not, just taste it, smell it, look at it and try and imagine why the fruit is the color, shape, and size that it is in nature. Let it be an experience rather than a “Yeah” or “Nay” taste test.
6. Learn three conversational phrases from a foreign language that you have always wanted to learn. Imagine you are dropped off in the middle of the land that speaks the language and determine what you would like to be able to communicate with someone. It would probably have something to do with a greeting, directions, and food, but you can decide for yourself. You can find the phrases online, through Google Translate, or on YouTube to hear a native speaker. Repeat the phrases to yourself routinely until you know longer need to refer to notes. Learning a new language is one of the top things experts suggest to keep the mind sharp.
7. Go somewhere in your home that is peaceful and quiet and let your thoughts be still for 10 minutes. It is a start at learning to mediate. Every time your thoughts wander stop and be still. Don’t make lists, don’t review your day, don’t think about what you will do next, and don’t think about anything that is stressful. Just practice allowing your mind to rest.
This is just a suggestive list and a very good one at that, so do try and choose a few from here, yet be creative and look for ways to switch up your routine and experience new things. You will be amazed at how doing something different and new boosts your mood, your energy, and your motivation. It will have you creatively thinking about what else you can add to your life and experience new. Make it happen.
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