March 2nd is Old Stuff Day

Old Stuff Day has nothing to do with the antiques you have collected or that sweater in your closet you've had for 15 years. Old Stuff Day doesn't have anything to do with things but everything to do with how you feel about what you're doing every day.

Old Stuff Day is a day each year to reflect on your daily life. Do you feel as if you're truly living or do you feel like you're on autopilot? I believe many of us fall into the slump of feeling bored with a routine that can consume our daily lives. In the movie, Groundhog's Day, Bill Murray was the character who found himself reliving the same day over and over and over again. If you wake up every day feeling as if you're reliving the same day over and over again, just doing the same old stuff, it may be time to break routine, even just a little so that you can break free from the routine that has molded you into boredom.

Although a routine can be comfortable, if you step outside your comfort zone you open yourself up to the possibility of learning and experiencing new and wonderful things. Perhaps you have always wanted to go kayaking. Make it happen! Spending time with nature is an extreme boredom buster and anything that gets you off the couch or out of a stuffy office and actively involved in anything outdoors is a sure way to relight a spiritual fire that seems to have sizzled out.

Other ways to feel renewed are to take a new route to work, wear your make-up differently, get a new hair style, exercise at a different time of day, and eat something new. Indulge in a spa day. You might want to take up a new hobby such as pottery. If there is something you always wanted to learn more about take a class. Let yourself be spontaneous from time to time. If you always take a shower, take time to take a bubble bath. If you like to socialize, try meeting new people because with new people comes new conversation. If you are an introvert and relish time alone, be your own friend and take yourself out for lunch at that little café you've never been to, go for a walk in the woods, or spend an afternoon at the beach with a good book. Go to a museum. Go to the library and find a book to read about something you've always wanted to know about.

When someone asks you what you've been up to, the goal is to stop answering, "Oh, the same old stuff" and start being able to honestly say, "I've been doing some really great things!" I used to think that only boring people got bored. Now I think that most people who are bored just need to change it up a little once in a while. They've just gotten stuck. Routine and structure is part of our lives but we don't have to be zombie slaves to it all.

Old Stuff Day is a reminder to take time to reflect on if you feel more enlightened because you lived another day or if you're bored to tears. If you find you are bored from doing the same old stuff it's time to think outside the "boring box" and look to new experiences that will ignite your passion for life. Celebrate your life.