By Flavia Ventura

Do everyday something you would never consider doing

‘Do everyday something you would never consider doing’, how many of us can really say to live by this rule? How many times do we really get out of our daily habits by trying something new, something that we did not think we would enjoy doing? Not many people and not many times, that is the answer.

It is well known that ‘man is a creature of habits’. We need our routine, we draw our energy from it, recharge our batteries thanks to it. In the past couple of months I have certainly revalued what being a ‘creature of habits’ truly means. After five years abroad, I have come to wanting this routine everyone seems to be talking about. Being able to create something ‘mine’ everywhere I go, something that makes me feel comfortable any time any day.

For the first two months I spent in London I tirelessly tried to establish a routine — I wanted to feel at home. Waking up every morning at the same time, choosing the same road to get to school and the same road back home, over and over again. I realized having a routine was one way to keep me sane. Was it?

What I really realized is that having a routine keeps you sane until it doesn’t. In my plan of reaching happiness there was a flaw. I did not take in consideration one important factor, boredom.

I am very pleased Marc and all mentors kept stressing the importance of trying new things everyday as a launching platform for inspiration and new ideas. I thought ‘read a book you would never consider reading’, ‘watch a movie you’d never consider watching’, and the ‘call a person you haven’t talked to in years’ were all great opportunities to find new interests and break through the ordinary.

It would have been great to having found new passions in the matter of twenty days, but it didn’t happen — I wasn’t fortunate enough. I decided to pick both a movie and a book I sort of knew I wouldn’t like, I wanted to see if my taste had changed in matter. Being a cynical romantic, I picked ‘Gone With the Wind’ for a movie and Franco Fortini’s ‘Poesie Scelte’ for a book.

‘Gone With the Wind’, being the masterpiece that it is, didn’t do it for me. Or better, I recognize its greatness but it is not my taste, too much pointless romance. Same with Franco Fortini’s book of poetry.

Although it miserably failed for me, I still thought this experiment was very useful. Maybe I didn’t find new passions but knowing what I am not interested in, brought me a step closer to finding what I am interested in. I will surely try this experiment again next month.

In the meanwhile I will sleep on the wrong side of the bed, wake up at a slight different time every day, brush my teeth on the balcony, try new routes to school and different foods everyday. Cheers to a dysfunctional 2017.