Do you worry that your life will become boring when you retire? Perhaps you already feel like your life is boring.
Let me guess, your life goes something like this (give or take): Get up in the morning, eat breakfast, shower, go to work, do work stuff, get home, eat dinner, watch TV, and then go to bed. Rinse and repeat everyday.
I remember a time in life when I felt pretty much the same way. It was back in the early and mid '90s. I had recently graduated from the Ohio State University, and I was just spinning my wheels at low level jobs in Columbus. Nothing exciting, nothing really to look forward to, just a fairly comfortable but blah existence.
Fast forward to today, where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area financially independent, traveling around the world, and living a life of freedom, contentment, and challenge.
So how did I change things? I just made one move after another that slowly but surely got me out of that rut. I moved to New York City, I met and eventually married a smart adventurous woman, we moved to San Francisco, I started working at interesting tech companies, I interacted with a diverse and intellectual group of people, I started traveling to new and exotic places, and I eventually quit my job(s) to work on my own projects.
My life is never boring. It’s challenging, interesting, fun, and different.
So how do you get out of your rut? Let’s look at the 4 parts of your life I outlined at the beginning: Eat, Sleep, Work, and Watch TV. OK, how we can change those up?
Eat: Start learning about food and nutrition. Learn how to cook your own meals. Explore new grocery stores, especially if you have ethnic neighborhoods like a Chinatown.
Go to new and interesting restaurants. Not sure what to try? Just hop on Yelp and search your neighborhood (or nearby areas you want to explore).
Sleep: Nothing drastic here, just two things: make sure you’re getting enough (7 - 9 hours), and make sure you have a good sleep routine (go to bed and get up at the same time).
Work: If you’re life is boring, I can almost guarantee that means you don’t like your job. It’s most likely boring, unfulfilling, and not very challenging.
Figure out two things: what are you truly passionate about, and what are you good at doing? Be honest with yourself. And then look for new work opportunities that incorporate both of those criteria. Passion & Skill: how do you marry these into a new job?
Watch TV: Turn off the tube for awhile - trust me, you won’t miss anything. Get into physical shape. In fact, make it a goal to get into the best possible shape of your life. So when you get home, work out.
Next, write down 5 places you want to visit (could be close by or on the other side of the globe). Make a plan to visit one every 6–12 months. You must travel and see new things and people to break out of your rut.
And finally, take up reading and meditation. Do these for at least 30 minutes a day.
These simple changes will manifest over time, and then you can start making bigger and better changes to your life. Things like moving to a more exciting location, building and creating things (art, websites, books, blogs, etc), traveling around the world, and ultimately becoming the master of your life.
For more inspiration, check out our post 4 Keys to Living an Accomplished Life.