I thought the fix to feeling like I wasn't really living was rest but actually it was something very different.
I found the solution out by accident. I'd been eating dinner in front of the TV every night for years, same seat, same plate, same programme. One evening I took my plate into the garden instead.
That small act made a huge change. Why? Because every day had become identical enough that I stopped paying attention. Eating in the garden interrupted that pattern and turned on a switch that made me realise I didn't have to do much to feel better. Once I noticed what it did, I started testing it on purpose. I named it my Alive List.
It would have been easy for me to think that's too small an act to make such a big difference but it wasn't. I tested it by walking a different way to work. Cooking myself a meal I haven't eaten before. Turning and TV off and singing for 10 minutes. There were these little things that I did. Just once a day. Sometimes just once a week but they really helped pull me out of the feeling of just existing. Those small acts got me out of my rut.
If today feels like every other day lately, don't wait for a big enough reason to change it. Go start An ALIVE List and pick one thing to do differently this week.
