Distracted enough? I thought so.
Seriously. With the onslaught of information, links, videos, emails, text messages, and everyone competing for our attention, we’re lucky if we can get through our to-do lists each day.
Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like our lives just keep getting busier. And how do we know which of our distractions are adding to our happiness or draining our energy tank?
Simple. We start paying attention to what we pay attention to. And based on how our choices are manifesting in our experiences, we can choose again.
As a self-proclaimed Relentless Optimist, I’ve developed a momentum of chronic positivity—a condition I picked up from my Mom, who learned from her Dad, etc. And one of the biggest influences on our sense of balance and clarity is how our health is being reflected back to us through our habits.
Part of creating healthy habits is being willing to try new things. My friend Teresa Thomas started a fantastic project for her 50th birthday a few years ago called 50 Fun Things—workshops to help people brainstorm 50 things to restore fun and spontaneity in their lives.
In the spirit of 50 Fun Things, consider these 50 healthy distractions that you can use to rekindle your spark and shift your positive momentum. Notice which of them jump out at you first and put those on your to-do list:
- Start a journal
- Watch a sunset
- Move more
- Eat less
- Cancel your cable TV
- Watch a black & white movie
- Wear your favorite outfit
- Stop stinkin’ thinkin’
- Meditate in the morning
- Be kind to a stranger
- Smile at a baby
- Listen to your favorite music
- Read food labels
- Drink more water
- Stop beating yourself up
- Offer help to someone
- Ask for forgiveness
- Take the next step
- Travel somewhere new
- Get out of your head
- Pet a dog or cat
- Look at the stars
- Sit under a tree
- Get a massage
- Take a deep breath
- Do that one thing you’ve been avoiding
- Send your Mom a card or a thought
- Thank your Dad (or send grateful thoughts)
- Tell a friend that you appreciate them
- Get out of the house
- Go for a drive
- Turn right instead of left
- Get lost and enjoy it
- Call an old friend for no reason
- Ask someone out to lunch
- Attend a Meetup that interests you
- Create a Meetup that interests you
- Write a blog article
- Take pictures with your phone and share them
- Change the color of the sheets on your bed
- Buy a new pillow
- Rearrange a room in your house
- Buy a gift for someone else
- Put down your phone
- Give a friend your full attention
- Tell people you love them (when you do)
- Eat something new that changes your face
- Drink something new and feel the taste on your tongue
- Read something new and apply it to your life
- Make a list of 50 things to do for yourself
Now do #44, #50, and have fun!
Michael Thomas Sunnarborg is a career coach, best-selling author, and founder of The White Box Club™—live coaching and resources for people in career transition. Find his syndicated blogs on Thrive Global, Medium, and The Huffington Post. Learn more at michaelcreative.com
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