Make Your Life More Thrilling
Was the high point of your day today deciding what to order for lunch? Then it’s probably time for a bit of adventure.
Schedule some monthly excitement in your datebook (yes, it comes down to that). For inspiration, heed these simple ideas from busy women who managed to gain a new perspective.
1. Get lost
Discover the road not taken.. .literally. Instead of the same, shortest possible route home from work,every now and then,take a ‘wrong turn.Found one dirt road that’s got this sad. abandoned church on it.Drive by and daydream about what it must have been like when it was the town’s hub.”
2. Flirt
No. it doesn’t mean you’re on the slippery slope to an affair. It just means you feel like reveling in your (possibly rusty) feminine wiles.
3. Take on nature
Do a woman-against-the-elements kind of thing—white-water rafting, mountain biking, even a serious hike. It gives you a real adrenaline rush, a jolt of confidence, to do something strenuous that’s just a tiny bit over my head. Prefer something tamer? Try in-line skating or skiing the bunny slope—both provide that wind-in-your-hair. heart-in-your-throat element, but with a little more control.
4 Live like the other half—for an hour or two
Check out a house thats for sale in a pricey neighborhood, or test-drive a luxury car—maybe a convertible?— like you mean it. At the very least, you’ll get some great decorating ideas, and maybe you’ll even discover a “gently used” BMW in your price range.
5. Mess with your personal style
It you always wear pastels, find out-just for a day—what it’s like to be one of those exotic urbanites who dress in black from head to toe. Or wear plum lipstick instead of your usual red.
6.Ignore the weather
You don’t have to be a slave to the seasons. “It always feels like a real adventure to go to the beach in winter when it’s stormy or desolate, or to take a hike when a misty rain is falling,” says Janis Mysona. a sales representative in San Francisco.
7. Catch the collecting bug
There’s nothing like the thrill of the chase, as any flea-market or antiques-fair veteran can tell you.Searching and bargaining for a great find is among the simpler ways to get a rush.
8. Try food (you think) you hate
You may be surprised to learn your taste buds have changed, or the food isn’t as scary as you remember.
9 Broaden your musical horizons
Branch out from your usual listening fare when you’re cooking, cleaning, or commuting. Some good bets: The mysterious music from Cirque du Soleil, irresistible New Orleans zydeco. the Celtic folk tunes from Riverdance, any thing by the Gipsy Kings.
10. Move your body in a new way
Buy a day pass at a gym that offers spinning, indoor rock climbing, ballet, gymnastics (really—when was the last time you did a cartwheel?), or hip-hop aerobics. Maybe you’ll discover a new passion: at a minimum, you’ll get some feel-good endorphins flowing.
11.Head for nowhere
Take a road trip without making reservations.Get in the car and head in a general direction, and just stop at whatever motel or inn strikes your fancy. It feels so spontaneous, even a little dangerous.”
12.Join your Kids at an amusement park
Roller coasters, bumper cars. Ferris wheels, and the like aren’t just for the junior set.It’s a primal thrill to be twirled too fast and too high off the ground.There’s something very free about laughing and screaming hysterically.
13.Make over your mattress
Pamper yourself with some luxurious new linens and you just might improve your pillow talk in the process.In the summer I drape it with mosquito net ting and buy as many ferns as I can haul home. In winter. I rig up velvet drapes.Theatrical touches can really spice up your days…and nights.
14.Get a reading
Tea leaves, tarot cards, your palm, your horoscope…you choose. Even if it winds up being totally bogus, who can resist hearing someone else interpret her life and drop some serious hints about her future? It makes you look at your life like a mystery novel unfolding.
15. Give yourself asexual dare
“I’d always wanted to try that tie-me-up-with-a-silk-scarf thing but was embarrassed—I felt like such a cliche asking for it,” says an at-home mom in Dayton. “‘But when our sex life was edging into a major rut. I decided to see if it would help. Let’s just say, yeah, it did.”
16.Learn something new
Take a class that gives your spirit a lift, like watercolor painting, short-story writing, or photography. Maybe I’ll never be one of the world’s top cartoonists in this lifetime.
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