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Blogs by Brian S. Pratt
Adversity Breeds Diversity 12/15/2007 9:57:56 PM
Or... how unexpected happenstances can be a good thing. The average person wakes up, hurries to ready themselves for the day, invariably following a routine honed over months of repetitive behavior. Whether it be for school, work, or whatever, we tend to follow the same steps time and again in its pursuit.
We drive along the same route. Tend to stop at the same places for a quick cup of Joe. For most of us, the only variety in our daily routine is determined by which sequence of traffic lights we make on a green. And of course, during the red lights we sit staring out our windows at the business which happen to be near. Most likely, they are the same ones our gazes have passed over many times before.
Then...our car breaks down and we are forced to alter that routine. And yes, people hate to alter what is familiar. Do we take the bus? Bum a ride? Whatever choice we take will bring new experiences. On the bus, there are new people to encounter, maybe even a new best friend. Bumming a ride allows us to gaze from the window throughout the route rather than just at red traffic lights.
It was during one such 'routine adjustment' that I realized my insurance company had an office not two blocks from where I lived. I had been traveling two miles or more for three years to see my agent. Yet during all that time, there had been another agent within walking distance.
Riding the bus gave me time to reflect on how I had been going though life in a rut, basically with blinders off. I found that there were a multitude of interesting things along my regular route that I had never seen. I remember hearing about this one business years ago that barely did any business at all until the city put a stop light right in front of their shoppe. Over the next month their business had tripled and they were doing better than ever before. People had been forced to alter their routine by the traffic light. While they were stopped, they looked out bored and saw their business. Most had never seen it before though they passed by it every day.
I began to see how new experiences awaited if I just altered by routine. So, I began doing things different. I tried different foods than those I have eaten all my life. I changed my wardrobe though that didn't last too long, I discovered some things were my routine for a reason. Watched different shows without flipping through the channels in a continual stream. Got off the computer(Perhaps the hardest one of all!!) And I discovered new things that I never knew I liked. Now my life has much more variety to it and I am still discovering new, enjoyable experiences from time to time.
My advice to everyone is, alter your routine. Eat different things, drive along another route or even change your mode of transportation. If you take a bus, try a different route from time to time even if it is longer or you have to make a transfer. You never know what new gem you might turn up.
