Move the Couch
For many people, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer. Even though I’m a grown-up, I still feel that same back-to-school excitement at this time of the year as I did when I was a kid.
When I was young, I used to love going shopping for school supplies: the new notebooks, pens, and pencils would make me so happy. Here I am years later, still ordering supplies for myself every September, getting my desk organized and kicking off another new season.
I also love to create a change of scenery when the fall comes. This might sound silly, but on Sunday I moved my desk to a new place in the office, changed my Zoom background, and brought out festive fall decorations. At home, I swapped out the flower boxes that held the summer impatiens, and replaced them with gold and orange mums. There’s now a fall wreath on the front door. My environment looks refreshed.
As much as I enjoy the summer, I’m really looking forward to cooler weather and the leaves on the trees subtly starting to change colors. I can’t imagine ever living anywhere but New England where there’s such a defined distinction among our four seasons. When I come home and see the house spruced up for fall, or when I show up at work to a totally different furniture arrangement, I get motivated by the newness of it all.
My love of change goes way back to my childhood. Throughout our early years, my mother would seasonally rearrange the house furniture. Several times a year, my sister and I would come home from school to find our bedrooms completely switched up, our beds on the opposite wall, lamps and dressers in new locations. I felt like I was walking into brand new space. And I totally welcomed it. (Well, except for that one time when the fire alarm sounded in the middle of the night. It was a false alarm, nevertheless scary. And when it happened, my sister screamed, jumped out of her bed, and ran to the door... but instead, she surprisingly crashed into the wall. Mom had rearranged our rooms that day, and Nicki’s recollection of where the door had been turned out to be on the other side of the room.) Besides that incident, the change was usually positive.
Many of you know that I also switch up my hair color every season. The change is fun and often creates interesting conversations. Last year a friend said to me, “I wish I could do that. I always wanted to try being blond.” I encouraged her to do so. She laughed, “I can’t! I’ve had brown hair my entire life. Besides, what if I color my hair blond and it looks terrible?” To which I replied, “then you would just switch it back to brown.” But she is so used to her hair being the same color, changing it doesn’t occur as an option.
Do you ever feel compelled to switch up your environment once in a while? Are you someone who embraces change and loves the newness of it?
Or are you a creature of habit, and like to keep things exactly the way they’ve always been?
Some folks are so accustomed to things always being the same that any slight variation causes anxiety. They’d prefer to keep everything unchanged. The challenge is that life doesn’t stay constant or static. And if you are someone that resists change, when change eventually shows up (and it always does), it can feel like a real problem.
If this is you, maybe you need to practice change.
What if you started to practice now, on your own terms, with easy-to-adjust subtleties? What would happen if you moved your couch to the other side of the room, changed your wall hangings, replaced your old framed pictures with all new photos, or put a few pumpkins around your house to welcome the new season?
I’ve found that people who are willing to practice making changes tend to be less frustrated or upset when change is unexpectedly forced on them— like a pandemic and a sudden work-from-home mandate, for example.
What if this week you started practicing change? What routines would you switch up? What could you adjust in your environment— either at home or at work, for yourself or even the whole family— that might stimulate your brain in a new way?
I’m not saying rearrange the furniture in your house… but what might happen if you did?
This Week’s Resources
Fantastic Fungi
If you have any interest in our global ecosystem, you must watch this documentary on Netflix. It will take you on an incredible journey of the lifecycle of mushrooms— everything from their history, to the subculture of mushroom enthusiasts, to the controversial yet fascinating topic of micro-dosing. It’s an educational movie with award-winning cinematography: fantastic fungi
The Birthday 5k
Jessica and I have both have birthdays coming up in October. In the spirit of health and wellness, we are going to be hosting a Birthday 5k. On the week of October 2-9th we’re inviting friends, family members, and clients to run or walk their own 5k and post pictures on social media. We will be sharing more details of our virtual event next week. Get your sneakers ready and stay tuned!
Speaking of Sneakers
How do you find the right running shoe for you? This article will tell you what to look for in your search to find the perfect sneaker how to buy the right running shoe
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