Feeling particularly ‘lockdown yucky’ at the moment? Mentally and physically lethargic, mood way, way south of sunny?
One answer as to why, in neurological terms, could be a lack of ‘novel stimuli’ aka new experiences. Most of us are seeing the same person or people, the same four walls, reading the same news stories day in, day out at the moment. When the brain receives such repetitive input, its ‘standby mode’ is activated. The result is increasingly rigid and repetitive thoughts and feelings.
Now, if those thoughts and feelings are of the anxious or negative variety, and you are not experiencing anything new to disrupt them, the result for your brain is Groundhog Day, minus the comedy rodent.
So how do you override this response? Quite simply: do something you’ve never done before. We’re not talking huge, grand gestures, just work with what you have available. Get creative and let go of the fear of ‘looking silly’ or ‘getting it wrong’, simply aim for a new small experience each day. Never eaten a kumquat before? Give it a try. Never done a handstand? Find a wall and have a go. Never spoken a sentence in Armenian? ÖƒÕ¸Ö€Õ±Õ¥Ö„!
These are a selection of the new things that I have tried lately (yes, I had really lived 50+ years without ever doing a handstand). What can you come up with to show your brain something new?