Don't Settle For the Same Old, Same Old

By: Joan Kennedy

We are all creatures of habit.  

It’s just so much easier to wake up every morning at the same time and look forward to a day of routine and schedules, than to get up earlier and do something different.  What would that be like to do something different? 

I woke up one morning this week and thought nothing very exciting is going to happen today. I knew that.  First of all, I don’t drive anymore.  So I usually just wait for someone to call and say, “Do you want to go shopping tomorrow?” or, “How about lunch on Thursday?” And, second of all, it’s what I had gotten used to. 

Of course, I’m always ready to go, but I’m also always waiting for someone to call.

It occurred to me if I want something to happen in my life I have to make it happen.  It’s taken me a long time to figure that one out. 

Why wait for other people? Someone once said, “In doubtful matters boldness is everything.” So, I decided to be bold. 

Okay, but how? Instead of waiting for someone to invite me to lunch, I would invite someone to lunch. The person I ended up inviting was thrilled that I had asked her. Who knew? Here I was waiting for something to happen and all I had to do was ask.

Then I had another bright thought:  

I will have control of my life, when I decide what I want. 

So, what do I want?  I enjoy people; why not surround myself with interesting people?  

Here’s where my inner naysayers popped-up and said, but your apartment is small.

So then I said big deal. You don’t need to invite twenty people. Invite four. Plan a dinner. Have something easy. How about Pot Roast? Everybody likes Pot Roast, don’t they? Everything will be in one pot. I’ll serve crusty bread, and a bottle of wine to top it off. That sounds good to me. Naysayers shut down!

Now it's time to make other things happen in my life.  

How about you? What could you do differently to make things happen in your life?