Re-Fresh

[00:00:00] **Aurooba Ahmed:** Well hello, this is The Daily Five with Aurooba. That's me, where we reflect on creating our best lives a little bit every day. Here we go.

[00:00:15] I found myself thinking about the word refresh today. Re fresh. To make something fresh again. To make something new esque again. To inject some life into it again. To bring back the something that was there when it was new. Not everyone likes new things, but if you're not opposed to change, new things bring a lot of energy with them, and enthusiasm.

[00:00:40] There's a reason why we have shiny object syndrome, and it's a thing we all understand. The excitement, the potential, the hope that comes with new things can be addictive, and almost certainly palpable. So, to refresh is to want that again, that excitement, that potential, the hope. But not every day can be exciting, of course.

[00:01:03] Not every iteration and attempt can be either. But there's more excitement, or rather there's more to excitement, than just the adrenaline of the unknown. What is it exactly that makes excitement feel like a positive feeling? Biologically speaking, it often seems the same as nervousness. But it isn't, because you can be excited and nervous at the same time.

[00:01:25] We understand them differently, and experience them differently too. Hmm, what if we could harness the non adrenaline parts of excitement and find a way to inject that into our everyday? Or is adrenaline permanently linked to the feeling of excitement? When we rally, we often find ways to renew our excitement.

[00:01:46] Sometimes it happens because we had some rest and we come back with more energy to devote to this new thing we've been trying. Other times, something triggers the refreshed energy, the desire to re engage. I'm not sure I have the answer, so this is likely to be one of those episodes that's really more about questions.

[00:02:07] You know what, though? I think we just don't really like doing hard things. And not just the really hard things. We don't like things that are even marginally harder than the status quo, even if their benefits are exponential and clearly set out. So perhaps the reason having more energy or finding a way to have more energy isn't the key to refreshing our own commitments. Maybe it's finding ways to make our commitments easier.

[00:02:34] I have this walking pad, and I have always had the greatest of intentions of walking while I work. And sometimes, I definitely do that. And it is great. I mean, really great. And most other times, I Don't, I forget. So instead of trying to walk while working, I put my walking pad on one side of my desk.

[00:02:56] I keep it permanently connected with my walking shoes right beside it. And every day I walk on it for a little while as I listen to a light and breezy audiobook. Something that makes me laugh. Something that feels fun and definitely nothing work or productivity related because I do enough of that already.

[00:03:16] I made it easy to walk and connected it to something I look forward to already in my life, reading or listening to a fun book by Emily Henry. And I walk more now. Walking more than I usually do in winter is still not an easy thing, but By making it the only time I'll listen to an Emily Henry book, I made myself want to do it anyway.

[00:03:38] I look forward to my walking sessions where I can get lost in the light and romance filled world that Emily Henry crafts. It's a pleasure. Some might say a guilty pleasure, but no part of me feels guilty about enjoying a rom com in book form. But it's a pleasure that refreshes my motivation and gives me the energy to spend time moving in a season I otherwise move very little in.

[00:04:03] I'm not a super winter sports person, you see. So I guess that might be one way you can help yourself rally, you know, by figuring out something that you already like to do and connecting it to something you want to do. And the question then becomes, In a way, what refreshes you? What is the thing that re energizes you and allows you to do more of the thing you want to do that isn't quite normal in your life yet?

[00:04:40] Maybe you can tell me on social media. And yes, it is okay to DM me like some of you typically like to do.

[00:04:54] Thanks for listening. Same time tomorrow?