Micro-Adventures - 10 ways to quickly boost your mood!
Researchers say we can lift our mood by shaking up our daily routine. Here are some small but powerful ways we can go on a little adventure in our day, changing up our routine:
1) Take a Different Route Home
A new environment, even if it's only a few blocks from our normal route, has a way of waking us up to our surroundings. Add an element of audio adventure by switching up whatever you normally listen to: If you usually play music, try a podcast or audiobook, or vice versa. Or get radical and enjoy total silence.
2) Stop at a New Place for Your Morning Coffee
Pretend you're an intriguing stranger who's just passing through town. Chat with a barista, or the person next to you in line. Order something you've never tried: That dragon fruit latte might be just the thing to get you out of your caffeine comfort zone.
3) Move in a New Way
Trade your basement treadmill for a hula-hoop. Skip spin class and try an African dance workout (search YouTube for video classes). Or swap Pilates for a long, contemplative walk with only your thoughts for company. Try anything that speaks to you!
4) Rearrange Your Furniture
Moving your couch literally gives you a new perspective—and haven't you always wondered whether a feng shui-ed layout could bring you health, prosperity, and happiness? You'll never know unless you give it a go.
5) Go to a New Restaurant
Bonus points if it's a cuisine you've never sampled. Or visit the cookbook section of your local library, where you'll find all kinds of dishes just waiting to be discovered: Cook your way through Vintage Recipes of the 1970s, or whip up a Klingon Lingta Roast from The Star Trek Cookbook.
6) Have a Weeknight Dinner Party
Speaking of cookbook adventures, this is an excellent opportunity to invite a few people you love over to share some delights from the pages of In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy. Or you can just order pizza. The point is the forbidden thrill of making merry on a school night.
Fun Dinner Party Themes to Level Up Your Next Event (or Holiday)
7) Find a New Poem
If you haven't read poetry since your school days, it's time to rediscover the universe of verse. At poetryfoundation.org, you can browse by topic (nature, love, apologies, holidays), time period, where the poet lived, verse form (sestina, sonnet, etc.), and more. For maximum enjoyment, read your new discoveries aloud.
8) Spend an Entire Day Outside
You've no doubt read about all the studies that prove spending time in nature makes us happier—but "nature" doesn't have to mean forest walks, canoes, and campfires. Just step outside your door and spend the day in your yard, a local park, or any green space where you can comfortably settle in for the day: Eat, read, daydream, nap, hike, host a cornhole tournament—the possibilities are endless!
9) Discover New Music
A good soundtrack can make even your grocery-store run feel like an adventure. At the free streaming radio and social networking platform 8tracks, you can check out other members’ playlists and upload yours. Looking for something more obscure? Take a spin through Forgotify,com, where you'll find a randomly generated mix of Spotify tracks that have never been played.
10) Go Into A New Store
No need to buy anything. Just explore a new store, one you’ve never been in before. It can be a clothing store that sells clothes that are not your style and you’d never wear, a shoe store, a book store, a small grocery store or bodega. Take in the sights, and smells, and maybe touch some soft fabric or flip through a book’s pages.
This blog post information was taken from and inspired by this article: https://www.realsimple.com/microadventure-ideas-8682309
