Some time ago, I found myself in a terrible funk. The day had passed, work completed, socialization occurred, and yet … it felt like nothing had happened at all, like the day had ended before it began. I started theorizing why this feeling became so normalized within me, and what I could do to make it better, when a mental lightbulb went off—why don’t I just try switching it up for a change? As basic and as obvious as that idea sounded, I did just that and saw immediate changes.
At the very least, the mental fog that I was unknowingly surrounded by dissipated, and so did the dissociation occupying the space in my head meant for active thinking. I suppose a new routine actually required the recall of that active thinking; with new plans and environments, I participated in daily life so much more. When I continued this method every day for more than a week, the real changes came in the form of amplified emotions, more natural smiling, improved problem-solving/improvisation, cool pictures to share with friends and family, less stress, better social skills, and reduced stiffness.
To simplify all that word vomit, I would say I just felt so much freer.
I realize that many of you feel you don’t have the time or a small enough workload to be spontaneous. Maybe you’re an aerospace engineering major barely surviving off three cans of energy drinks and four hours of sleep, rolling your eyes at this advice right now. As a former burnt-out, overworked teenager, I promise I was there too, even if for a different reason. When I say embrace spontaneity, I am not telling you to pour one of those energy drinks on your notes and walk away without a care in the world; I am simply telling you to replace the monotone gaps in your day with something a little different and with potential to be a lot more interesting. Instead of scrolling through TikTok for that hour in between your second and third classes, try exploring a building you’ve always glimpsed and been curious about, and personally evaluate its interior design. If that’s not interesting enough, you could maybe challenge yourself to find ten items around campus under a time limit and take photos of each.
Of course, these examples could still sound like the most boring sounding activities in the world to you, but that’s for one simple reason: being spontaneous is doing activities that immediately grab YOUR attention, not mine. In fact, I struggled very hard to think of those two above because of how much less fun it is to write out “fun” activities. Don’t let a writer behind a screen tell you what exactly you should do during your free time!
An example: just recently, I found myself on the receiving end of a disconnected call, and so of course I decided to talk to them in person (without even being sure if the building was open or not). I then rented an electric bike for the first time to get there, figured out directions along the way, realized the place was closed, and made it back for my exam in the span of sometime less than 30 minutes. It is experiences like this that make me vouch for spontaneity so much—I realized the place was in the process of being shut down without wasting time doing a long, deep dive or rescheduling my thoughts to another day I would never decide on. Truly, so many answers are easily accessed when you’re willing to drop everything at the moment to directly confront them, and golden memories are created when you go to the event you heard about on the street only once, because that is when your energy is most open to whatever the moment could turn out to be.
On a more emotional note, being spontaneous really brought a lot of joy to my life. It was only when I said “yes” to the most random of things, with a genuinely curious mindset, that I met amazing people of all kinds, found mysterious places that have become my secret comfort space, and acquired so much interesting knowledge I would never have otherwise thought to look deeply into. It’s cheesy, but sometimes every day feels like a new adventure that I am so lucky to be part of. I wish for you to find joy in spontaneity, too—I truly believe it will change your life.