Get Yourself Out of a Rut By Taking One Action
Getting out of your routine and experiencing a change of scenery can have profound benefits on mood, mental health, and creative thinking.
If you don’t have the luxury of hopping on the next flight and experiencing epic sunsets in Ibiza or tropical vibes in Caribbean – not to fret.
A change of scene doesn’t need to be drastic or costly. It can simply mean stepping away from a dark room or office you’ve been hunkered down in, and switching to a room that has sunlight of plants, or even switching from working at your home office to a hotel lobby for a day.
The 1st key to changing your mood is to change your surroundings.
Staying in one place for too long, doing the same activities on repeat can lead to feelings of restlessness, depression, and lack of inspiration.
Our environments shape our experiences and wellbeing more than we realize.
Seeking out new places or even a different place exposes you to new sounds, sights, and sensations that create fresh neural pathways in the brain and release feel-good hormones like dopamine. Just seeing new people walk past us, work next to us, or interacting with someone different while getting your money coffee can prove to be refreshing.
The 2nd key is taking a step – even a baby step – towards changing your environment when you feel low.
This could mean switching from working in your living room, to working on your balcony or patio where there is more sunlight, perhaps birds singing and fresh air to breath in.
A change of scenery does not have to be elaborate or costly to be impactful.
Something as simple as visiting a new park or shop in your neighborhood, checking out a museum you’ve never been to before, or spending the day working from a co-working space can help shift your mindset and boost your mood.
The reset that happens when we change our scenery is crucial to boosting mood.
It has the ability to reset our senses, our thinking, get us out of rumination, anxious states, and even depressive states.
The 3rd key is committing to changing your scenery and acting on it.
Traveling to an entirely new destination, whether it’s a neighboring city or the seaside, or another country entirely, magnifies the benefits and can lead to even greater shifts in outlook and inspiration. This is why world travel is known to be transformative for many.
It’s the simple notion that an immersion in new sights, sounds, and culture can reset us more profoundly.
Stepping Away from Familiar Environments
Familiar environments, as comforting as they are, can exacerbate feelings of boredom, restlessness, and repetitive thought patterns.
When your surroundings remain largely the same day after day, it’s natural for your thoughts and mood to follow suit. Doing your usual routines in the same rooms of your home or workplace leads to a kind of psychological inertia where it’s difficult to gain new perspectives.
A change of scenery disrupts this inertia and introduces novelty and discovery.
- Visiting an art exhibit you’ve never been to before exposes you to new sights and sounds that capture your full attention.
- Traveling to a different city or country overwhelms your senses with unfamiliar sounds, smells, and visuals that lead to the release of dopamine, a feel-good hormone that boosts motivation and pleasure.
- This rush of dopamine, combined with a break from familiar thought patterns, dramatically improves your mood and outlook.
The Benefits of Sunlight and Fresh Air
If you’ve been cooped up inside for long periods due to work, winter weather, or other factors, a change of scenery that gets you outside in natural sunlight and fresh air can do wonders for your health and wellbeing.
- Exposure to sunlight increases your vitamin D levels, which plays a role in mood regulation and the release of serotonin, the “happy hormone.
- Breathing in fresh air also provides physiological benefits by increasing oxygen flow to the brain and body.
Tips
1. Simply stepping outside for a walk around your neighborhood, window shopping at a local store, going for a hike, or taking a mini road-trip can lift your mood and reduce feelings of stress or restlessness.
2. If possible, finding an outdoor space with additional greenery or natural scenery will amplify the positive impacts.
3. Spending time in the outdoors has been shown to decrease symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
4. A dramatic landscape like the ocean or mountains can lead to experiences of the romantic sublime, a sense of transcendence that leads to an expanded sense of self and amplified emotions.
Traveling to New Destinations
Traveling to completely new destinations, whether domestic or international, provides the maximum benefits when it comes to a change of scenery.
- Exploring an unfamiliar city, region or country exposes you to a torrent of new sights, sounds, tastes, and sensations that can lead to transformational experiences.
- The rush of new experiences and the anticipation and wonder of discovery releases pleasure chemicals in the brain that have powerful mood-boosting effects.
- Travel also often involves ample exposure to sunlight and outdoor exploration, which provides additional physiological and psychological benefits.
Many people find that traveling to new places where they can relax and pursue meaningful experiences allows them to recharge from stressful routines and re-inspire themselves.
A trip to a natural wonder like the Grand Canyon, for example, fosters a sense of expanded perspective that carries over even after returning home.
This “vacation effect” on mood and outlook can last for weeks and months after a trip ends.
In summary, while it’s easy to get stuck in familiar routines, a change of scenery is an accessible way to boost your wellbeing by exposing yourself to new experiences that release feel-good hormones, expand your thinking, and inspire your mood.
Novel sights, sounds, and sensations awaken your senses and open your mind, allowing you to transcend old thought patterns and gain new perspectives that nurture your mental health, creative energy and motivation.
No matter how small the change may be, shifting your environment has the power to transform your inner landscape.
A change of scenery is self-care for the mind and soul.
