Time to Shake It Up

I went to a restaurant for lunch yesterday, a place I hadn’t been to in months.  I was looking forward to visiting and catching up on the doings of my dining companion.   A bonus of the outing was that I ran into and got to chat a bit with people I don’t get to see enough of and then, promptly ordered the same, exact item off the menu that I have done the umpteen times I have been to this eating establishment.

I didn’t even hesitate when the server came up to take the order.  Matter of fact, the only reason I scanned the menu was to make sure that “my usual” was still there.  I wasn’t going to permit any of the other sumptuous treats to entice me or alter my decision; I was sticking to my guns.  There was a comfort level that if I had enjoyed this tasty little morsel before, chances were, I would again.  I knew my choice would satisfy my cravings and was the perfect amount of food for a light lunch.  Taking into consideration my lunch partners gastronomic preference, I knew I wouldn’t let her sitting there for an hour waiting for me to finish my meal.  I was compelled to go with the only option in which I was relaxed and confident.

Who am I kidding?  Whatever excuses I just said are totally bogus. It is like my creative juices, the ones that previously had me exploring and trying new and exciting things, have temporarily dried up.  My get up and go has got up and went and in the process I have become a creature of habit.  Which is just a nice way of saying I am stuck in a rut.

Now that I think about it, going with the same, uninspired items off the menu isn’t the only thing that have been sending up a large monotonous red flag I should have noticed.  I frequent the same restaurants and predictably, choose the same thing off the menu, I purchase too many black turtlenecks, pants and shoes (although I do go to one of three different stores), I drive the same routes to the same places I always go to, I plant the same type of bulbs and I tell the same jokes.  Am I exciting or what?

When in doubt, I turn to my usual source of stimulation, the Internet, for guidance and counsel.  To my amazement Google came up with 1,340,000 potential sites for “stuck in a rut”.  Glad to know that I am not the only one, but really?  Over a million sites that are willing to share advice on being stuck in a corporate rut, reviving tired musical tastes, revitalizing when the thrill of a new love fades and energizing when you experience lack of dinner creativity panache.  There is even a theme song for fellow “rutters” on getting motivated and moving on… to a better place.

If I start today on searching those websites or maybe taking a left turn instead of a right, I would be able shake up my world and routine and find a way to no longer be a stick in the mud.  Or I may find out that the way I have been doing things is the best for me.  I guess I won’t know until I try.  I just have to remember how to get back to my “old” ways just in case… Good-bye comfort zone! Hello fresh, innovative and crazy!  To be continued…

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-