Finding Joy in the Ordinary
10 ways to create magic out of the mundane (and journal prompts)
“Joy comes to us in moments - ordinary moments. We risk missing out on joy when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary.”
Brene Brown
Have you ever asked a friend, “How are you?”, and had the response (with a sigh), “Oh you know, same old stuff”, or something similar?
I hear that kind of response all the time. It’s a bored response and could indicate the person is in a rut of mundaneness. They’re lacking a feeling of joy in the ordinary.
How do you know if you’re stuck in a rut and, more importantly, what can you do to get out of it?
Here are some signs that you’re in a rut:*
You wake up every morning and it feels like “groundhog day”; same stuff on a different day.
You don’t feel any inspiration or enthusiasm for the day ahead because it’s “more of the same”.
You feel unmotivated to do anything different.
You want to change but it seems too difficult to figure out how.
*Note: It’s important to recognize that these can also be signs of depression so if the suggestions here don’t help, and you’ve been feeling like this for a while, you may need to seek medical help.
Often, though, it’s simply boredom brought on by thoughts in your head. And that’s good news because we can change our thoughts.
The first thing to do when you feel like you’re in a rut is to figure out what area of your life is most affected and what the root cause is. Is it your job? Your social life? Your family? Something else? All of the above?
How do you find joy in the ordinary and escape from a boring daily rut?
In addition to your healthy daily habits, to create magic out of the mundane, why not try the following:
Expand your social connections
Do something fun. Not sure what that is? Start by making a list of every single way you’ve had fun in your life. How can you inject some fun and play into your day?
Try something you’ve never tried before. Our brains love it when we do new things and it helps create new neural pathways.
Do something spontaneous. Spontaneity is mindfulness in action and truly living in the moment.
Go outside. Nature is an antidote to anything that ails you.
Get creative! Any form of creative expression (i.e., drawing, painting, singing, dancing, writing, doodling, etc.) gets you out of your head and into the flow of the world around you.
Make some small changes in your home environment. Moving something may inspire you to make even more changes.
Learn something new. It could be a new hobby or something you just want to know.
Plan something for the future version of you to enjoy.
Do some journaling. Write down all your disappointments and all your hopes for the future.
Try these journal prompts for more inspiration:
What do you like about your daily life and what would you like to change?
Complete this sentence: My life would be more exciting if __________________.
What changes would you like to make in your life?
What support do you need in order to make those changes?
If you woke up tomorrow into your perfect day, what would that look like? Describe the day from the moment you wake up until you go to bed that night. Who is with you, if anyone? Where are you? What are you doing? Write down all the details.
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I’d love to hear from you so please send any comments or questions to me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com. Feel free to share this email with anyone else who may be interested.
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What is stopping you from living your best life? Get out your journal and a pen and take the new quiz on my website to find out:
Are you interested in learning more about life change & mindset coaching from a mind/body perspective? Please email me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com for more information or to schedule a free introductory consultation to see if coaching is right for you. You can also visit my website coaching page.
"I felt at complete ease with Sharon from our first conversation. She has a wonderful, gentle but firm way that made me focus on my thoughts / feelings so I could remove / change to move forward with a completely different feeling to what felt like obstacles. It was great having regular coaching that gently kept me accountable to actioning and moving towards my goals. Sharon has vast experience in so many areas, I felt that makes her an amazing coach.”
— Michelle Carney, East Galway, Ireland
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