Finding the Amazing in Your Extreme Routine

| Coleen Patrick

 adventure routine lethal coelho_opt

A couple of weeks ago I went to a concert with my daughter.  We sang, we danced and then came the deep thoughts.

I know, uh oh.  But this time it wasn’t me and my tendency to over think and ruminate.  It was this guy:

 isaac slade close up ear the fray _opt

Meet Isaac Slade, lead singer of The Fray, or well, his ear (and his deep thinking brain).

 

So Mr. Deep Thinker mentioned something that got me reaching for my phone to text myself.  He talked about how he used to work in a coffee shop and how his life became a series of two-minute coffee-making intervals.  Every day he did the same things over and over.

Extreme routine.  We all know it.

And routines can be detrimental to not only enjoying life, but inspiration and creativity.  Except he forced himself to look between those espresso and latte intervals.  He searched for meaning and wrote songs about that space, because no matter how extreme our routine, no matter how identical each day may seem . . .

Today will never happen again.

You wake up and drink coffee.

Go to work or school.

Shop for groceries.

Hug your loved ones.

Talk to friends.

Watch TV.

Check Facebook.

Exercise.

Maybe it feels a lot like yesterday (and the day before), but it’s TODAY and unless you have a Marty McFly connection, there will never be another today.

Even hugging our loved ones, it can be so easy to forget the significance, the intimacy, the connection.

And I’m inclined to forget about the grocery store.  It might take a little deep thinking to be present there.

 

But breathe easy, because it’s a little easier to find the awesome at snack time.

 chocolate dipped cream cheese cookies_opt

So here’s to finding the amazing in every day.

 

 

What are you doing to make today AMAZING? 

Tell me, I want to know–even if it doesn’t have anything to do with cookies. 🙂

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54 thoughts on “Finding the Amazing in Your Extreme Routine”

  2. To make today amazing I am savoring the memories of last week — spent with wonderful friends I don’t get to see often enough — while enjoying being home again. There is really, really, really no place like home. I am relishing the “being” part of “at home.”

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  3. Super post, Coleen! I love that last quote. It is so hard to start a new phase of life and start routines that you know will help you. These online connections are so awesome! And that’s also a reminder of how miserably I failed at baking again yesterday with an easy Jamie Oliver microwave pudding *sigh*. I’m going back to Canadian baking from a packet lol.

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  4. Lovely post 🙂 I have some time set aside today to spend playing cards with my husband. I know playing cards doesn’t sound amazing, but it’s time where we enjoy each other’s company and focus on the two of us.

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  5. Your post’s timing couldn’t be better, Coleen. Yesterday, I let myself get mired in small, ever-repeating household tasks and was grumpy for hours. What a waste! Today, I’ll try amazing. Also, I resolve to drink my morning coffee before I clean the litter box. That one change in routine makes a big difference in my attitude.

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  8. I’m going to enjoy my children when they get home from school. Until then I will write and get my house measured for new carpet. Yay! Lovely post. Everyone should ask themselves that question every day.

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  9. Amazing??? Gosh, I don’t know. I really don’t. I mean, getting up at 4, is that amazing? It’s certainly insane. But I don’t think that’s the kind of amazing you’re going for. 🙂 You’ve made me really stop and think, Coleen. Well, it’s 2:15 pm right now. I have another 8 hours before I go to bed. I promise to do something amazing in the next 8 hours. I’ll let you know what I come up with. 😉

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    1. Yes, I certainly think your 4am schedule is amazing Kate! I think anything that helps add meaning to your day (or helps you see it) is amazing. The fact that you are making the time to do what you love is awesome. 🙂

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  10. one of the simplest things for me that is amazing is fresh sheets on my bed. I know, you’re ROFLYAO but it’s true. If i’m having a crappy day, I change the sheets and then relax into a freshy made bed – pure heaven

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  12. Well I was able to make today amazing because I was alone at my office all day and so I was able to unzip my pants. That’s right. I sat at my desk most of the day with unzipped pants. How amazing is that!?! (Note to self: Buy bigger pants.)

    Stuipd I know, but that’s not something I can do any ordinary day.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

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  14. Love the reminder to stop and smell the cookies……I freaking love cookies! Especially still warm from the oven with a glass of milk. Today was amazing for me because, I actually accomplished a lot and here I am, about to get ready for bed and I don’t feel wrecked! I think it’s because, I did a lot of things that really fed my soul. **Including eating a warm cookie and drinking some cold milk** :o)

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  15. What a great thought. I try to look at the positives but I never thought to Today was amazing because I’ve reduced my responsibilities at the day job so I got home on time this evening and could read blogs and comment. It was amazing ’cause I got some wonderful blog love today. And it was amazing because there was a gorgeous sunrise this morning as I drove to work. Cool. I’d almost forgotten that sunrise. Thanks for a wonderful post.

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  16. I packed four large boxes for the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox program, run by Samaritan’s Purse. The boxes will be sent to 10 million children around the world. I fill them with school and art supplies, toys, toiletries, clothing and candy. Last year my boxes ended up in the Ukraine and Jordan. It’s a joyful routine I do annally.

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  18. How cool that you went to a concert with your daughter. I love to do things like that with my daughters, too! The Marty McFly connection, what a hoot. Actually, my daughter’s chihuahua’s name is Marty McFly, but I don’t think he can help us with the time travel. Today my awesome will be hugging Punkin and watching him play and laugh. Every day is a new adventure while babysitting! Take care, Coleen!

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  19. Great post! I love the quotes. Hm.. Making today amazing…. Finishing some things on my to-do list that I’ve been procrastinating FOREVER. What? That’s something completely different from my normal day of NOT doing them. 🙂

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  20. Great post, Coleen! What did I do to make today amazing? I got through my inbox, which made me very, very happy. By the way, I love the Fray and am very envious you got to see his ear and deep thinking pose. 😉

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  22. OK so, sitting here in my seen-better-days bathrobe, a banana peel and a stained mug next to me, hunched over the computer with my back to the window and feeling kind of grouchy — and I come across your opening quote. I turn around. While my head was in the ethernet the sun came up and, it’s a STUNNING day. It’s going to be 85. The last of the tomatoes might ripen after all. Thank you for reminding me that Amazing-ness is right here, and that its harder for the grouchies to get you if you don’t invite them in by turning your back on the good stuff.

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  23. My mom & I went to see The Fray over the Summer! They are quit amazing and Isaac does have a deep thinking brain for sure. It’s easy to get caught up in routine. I often say that everyday I do the same thing and it drives me crazy! The thing I did to make today amazing was setting up for a program called Operation Christmas Child at my church. This program is something that is very close to my heart and I enjoy every minute I spend on it.

    I’ll also probably eat some fudge later, which is also amazing! Haha =)

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  24. I’m trying not to wish away my days, but sometimes, I want peace! I love being a stay-at-home mom of four, but the monotony can get to me. I keep reminding myself to enjoy the moment, because my kids will grow up and leave and I’ll wish for these days again.

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    1. You’re right, the mommy monotony is not forever. Just the fact that you KNOW that is a great thing. Then when you have those (tiny) moments to breathe in between the routine, you lean toward the enjoying.
      Thanks Emily!

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  25. Since you already commented on my post I think you know what I am doing to make this day amazing. If you tell someone every day how much they mean to you it might tend to be taken for granted. So do something different today! Don’t wait. Not to be fatalistic, but realisticallty, you never know if you’ll have tomorrow.

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  26. Yes, this is something that has definitely been on my mind as well recently — that much of what I do is about ensuring success in the “long term,” but ultimately the “long term” is a fiction. It’s not totally unworthy of my attention, and it is a fiction that may come to pass in reality, but I shouldn’t let it eclipse my ability to appreciate what’s around me, even if it’s my usual stomping ground.

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  27. I’ve decided to set up a new group for writers. A submission group to run alongside the critique group I go to…
    Several of us want to start sending things off, we need accountability, and the ability to share information.

    I took the bull by the horns and announced I’d set it up! 😉 We’ll see how it goes, it’ll be fun…

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