Nothing New Under the Sun

I'll bet you're familiar with the saying there's nothing new under the sun? It's true, of course, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of things new to me. I constantly come across something I haven't seen before.



Have you ever rearranged your furniture, stood back, and felt a wave of shock? The old furniture you wanted to burn suddenly appeals to you and seems new and exciting. We don't have to throw out our entire life when the doldrums hit; we need to move our day around to avoid the pitfalls of familiarity.

We're blessed that in many aspects of our lives we can claim a sense of wonder and awe even in tasks we've been doing for years. The secret is in our approach. Routines help speed up our process, but sometimes we need to turn them upside down, shake them a few times, and be willing to lose some of our precision, or they'll feel routine.

Take cleaning, my least favorite duty. I don't mind dishes or laundry, but sweeping and mopping? Uggh. A few years ago, I decided to experiment to make the process nicer. I tried sweeping and mopping at different times of the day. Morning clearly worked best. Then, I experimented with the environment. When I popped in a soundtrack of a foreign movie, preferably upbeat and French, I danced while I cleaned. Since I adore dancing, the task flew by quickly.

I have a point, I promise. By approaching my least favorite chore in a new way, I was able to determine that I perform best when I sweep and mop in the morning to festive music. The old task felt new.

What tasks do you loathe doing? Can you think of a way you could approach them differently to make them less loathsome?

Join me on Friday to check in on your goals!

I will be in and out the rest of this week. I love reading your comments, so please leave one!

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