The season of spontaneous road trips and random fun is upon us. If the idea of doing anything that isn’t on your schedule fills you with fear, here are 6 reasons you should be more spontaneous this summer… or dabble in it forevermore.
1. Happiness is Now
So many of us peg our happiness on material things, other people, or ideas that exist somewhere in the future. Here’s the secret – happiness is an emotion that only exists in the present moment – everything else is the expectation of happiness or a memory of happiness. Did we just blow your mind?
You can meditate to connect to the present moment or you could be spontaneous. Both, like happiness, require you to be in the present moment. Spontaneous meditation, anyone?
2. Lose Them Expectations
How many expectations do you think you have right now? Include the ones you have at work, of your kids, your spouse, your friends, and – the big one – yourself.
What do all of those expectations do for you? Are they serving you in any way? What if, you let go of some of them? Might you be happier? Less stressed? Less anxious? More loving?
Being spontaneous comes without expectations – you don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s the beauty of it. Without expectations, you can’t be disappointed.
Practice a little more spontaneity and you may find it easier to let go of some of those other expectations in your life.Just don’t go expecting too much from spontaneity.
3. The Power of Failing
We’re not going to sugar coat this. Sometimes spontaneity leads to epic fails. You might spontaneously take a road trip to a town booked solid by a hula-hooping convention or randomly pick a restaurant with your vegan friend that turns out to be a Brazilian BBQ joint.
Here’s what’s great about things not going your way… you find your way through it – hopefully with a side of fun. Little fails like this show you how resilient you are and sometimes, even lead to you learning how to hula-hoop or eat $18 worth of açai smoothies!
4. Stress Reduction
Let’s face it, planning and trying to get everyone to stick to the plan is exhausting and stressful. Once you learn to embrace spontaneity, being spontaneous instead of planning every second of an outing is incredibly freeing and a lot less stressful.
Plus, the rush of spontaneity releases endorphins, which reduce those feelings of stress. Combat stress – have some spontaneous fun.
5. Bye-bye Rut, Hello Perspective Shift
We’ve all been there – stuck in a rut. It might be a relationship that imperceptibly shifted from comfortable to boring or a job that’s getting harder to get out of bed for. A little dose of spontaneity can help you see a new perspective, step outside the routine and see a new way to approach it.
Change up that date night routine, take a different route when you walk your pup, try changing things up at the next office meeting – even little shifts in the routine can give you a new view and pull you out of that same ‘ol thing.
Ain’t no fun happening in that rut.
6. Deeper Connection.
Spontaneity has a way of taking you out of your comfort zone. There are a lot of great things that happen outside, but one of the best things is conversation. There is something about feeling vulnerable that helps you open up and the same goes for the people joining you in that outer-comfort area. This helps people connect on a much deeper level.
Who knew that a little thing like saying yes! to an unexpected offer or following your gut and passions one day can lead to so many side benefits.
Who’s ready for a spontaneous summer??!
