How would you define a spectacular life?

It happens to the best of us.

We get so into our routine that we forget to do the unexpected. Our day to day habits become the only things we do. We find ourselves declining invitations to do other things because we have a routine. We don’t make new plans if they aren’t a part of our routine.

And before we know it a year has passed and we don’t really remember anything spectacular about it.

Has that ever happened to you? It certainly has to me.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love my life. I’ve worked hard to create a life I enjoy and have people around me who make me smile, laugh and cry.

And sometimes, it’s a bit more ordinary than others.

We all go through phases in our lives, and some would tell you that it’s normal and ok. Accept the routine phases just as much as you accept the spectacular phases.

What do you think?

For me, I do accept the routine phases as much as I do the spectacular phases. Sometimes, however, I find that I get so comfortable in the routine phases I don’t look for the spectacular.

So, one day recently, I began to wonder what it would be like if I could blend the routine and the spectacular so that I would have the most amazing life I could hope for!

You see, to me, when people would talk about living my amazing life it felt overwhelming to me. The thought of always feeling and being amazing feels like a lot of work. While I’m not a total introvert, I do have introvert qualities and I don’t like to be out and about all the time.

Some people do, and I envy that. But it’s not for me. I like my down time. My quiet time.

And that can turn into days, weeks and months of doing the same routine things every day.

So, I asked myself how I defined a spectacular life. What about my days and weeks would make life spectacular for me.

It’s funny. My initial response was to get to hang out without any responsibilities or anyone asking me to go places. (Admittedly, I was asking myself this during one of my “routine” phases where I was really enjoying doing the same thing every day.)

So I allowed myself to sit with that question for a while.

Now, that is not easy for me. I am a get it done and move on kind of person. I like to ask a question, get an answer, and move on to the next thing.

This time, however, I was committed to seeing what I came up with.

So I let it sit.

I went about my days with this question in the background.

How would I define a spectacular life?

After a couple of days I began to get some interesting answers.

Doing things I don’t normally do. Creating memories I would take with me into the future. Having experiences I haven’t had before. Enjoying my down time. Moving a little bit slower, without the quiet pressure of the hustle in my mind.

These were all what I defined as great answers.

And unexpected.

In fact, notice that last one. Moving a little bit slower, without the quiet pressure of the hustle in my mind.  This was the one.

The one that had prevented me from pursuing what I thought was a spectacular life before. This is the thing that I had perceived as being at odds with “spectacular.”

Don’t know how or when, but at some point I began to define a “spectacular life” as running from one event or place to another. It felt very hurried to me.

And seeing this pop up in my definition of a spectacular life explained why I had fallen into a routine so many other times in my life.

A part of me didn’t want what I defined as a spectacular life.

Until I realized this was my list. And that the definition I had held of a spectacular life wasn’t my definition at all. It was someone else’s that I had picked up somewhere along the way and let sneak into my unconscious.

On a conscious level my answer would have been spend time with my loved ones. Watch my family and friends smile doing the things they love. Make sure my loved ones are able to do what they want and achieve their dreams.

It was interesting to allow myself the time and space to answer this question without judgement or analysis.

Just answer.

And as I thought about these answers I realized they really resonated with me. They were so different from what I would have expected, on so many levels, yet they felt right.

So I started to arrange my life to support this plan.

I planned days out doing things I didn’t normally do. Not every day. Just one or two days a week.

I scheduled outings to accomplish things.

I went on day trips to events I had always wanted to go to but never put the effort into.

And do you know what happened?

I was creating more memories. I was having unique experiences. I was laughing and having a blast!

And I wasn’t overwhelmed.

I didn’t feel like I was constantly running from one thing to the next. I felt like I was really loving my life! Different parts of life than I had been. More parts of life.

And it all began with a question.

A question that I, at first, had no idea how to answer.

A question that, allowed to sit until the answer appeared, has re-opened doors that I had allowed to shut.

Today I ask you, How would you define a spectacular life?

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