Looking Out My Back Window #60

Originally posted on Facebook HERE

I run a lot of my life on routine. I kind of like routine in many ways. During the week I eat the same breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack every day, and I have done that for years. Once I have an established routine, I’m not crazy about things that mess with it. So, the term “something different” has become a bit of a joke around our house. A joke that can be met with a laugh from me, but a nervous laugh including some trepidation. For instance, if I’m heading home and call my wife asking if she has anything planned for dinner and she says “I thought we’d try something different”, well… uh-oh. We got at best a 50/50 shot here. The odd thing about it as I look back on my life, though – is that I’ve had many times when things were rolling along and I decided to do “something different” in a major life area. Because if you never do something different you’ll live the same day over and over. In 1979 I dropped out of college to go on the road with rock bands. My parents were not impressed with this decision. It lead to years of feeding my drug and alcohol addictions, and it put me in many uncomfortable situations. I always needed to be in a full time money making band. I often joined a band not knowing any of the people who were about to be the people I spent the most time with. Sometimes I had to relocate to places I had never been to with people I hardly knew. In 1988, I had enough of that lifestyle and decided to try something different again – quit drugs and alcohol. A month later I decided to quit eating meat. I’ve been a sober vegetarian ever since. In 1990 I decided I needed to stop playing music for a while, and went into sales – “something different”. Little did I know how the eight years selling vacuum cleaners would come back to help me later in life. I met my wife selling vacuum cleaners. In 1997 I started playing music full time again, and played full time through 2006, when I decided to become a financial advisor – again, something different. The sales experience I had in the 90s became invaluable here. I’ve come to realize that we need to look for things, people, places, and events that push our boundaries, make us uncomfortable, and periodically try them. I’ve seen Yanni live, and I’ve seen Slayer. Neither one is in my top ten list of bands I’d prefer to go see, but – the situation came up, I was invited – and it was something different. Always push the boundaries. There’s more to life than what your routine would have you believe. Why not have a weekly or monthly “something different” day where you just do something, eat somewhere, or go to an event that you’ve never tried before? How much more we would all grow as humans if we did this? As much as I bristle when “something different” threatens my routines, I know it is an important step in moving forward in life. So, today – instead of quinoa w/blueberries, toast, a banana & coffee (my normal breakfast I’ve probably eaten the past 60+ days), I had waffles and veggie sausage (with coffee). Take THAT, routine. I feel different already. So – what’s for lunch?… do I dare?…