The 400 Project

Call it quarter-life crisis, call it a revelation, call it madness. Call it whatever you want but I’m done sitting around watching time pass me by. It’s super easy to get comfortable in this life. I mean Netflix alone has enough to hold you to your couch for the rest of your life. Is that really what you want though? To look back on your summer and realize you just sat around and watched all these television shows? Hell no.

Take risks, step out of your comfort zone. Basically just watch the movie Yes Man and take it at face value rather than just seeing it as another comedy movie with Jimmy Carey. If a friend asked you to do something you would never do, don’t dismiss it right away. You can’t do everything, it’s impossible but if your weekend would be free anyways then just say sure. Don’t expect to be thrilled but don’t expect it to be terrible either. Most problems people have with anything really is how you perceive something in your mind. If you go into something thinking it’s going to be terrible, well then you are going to be hunting for the things you hate and focusing solely on how it sucks.

If you do take the risk and it does suck, it’s not the end of the world but I bet you 80% of the time you can find fun in the activity. Lately I have even agreed to go to some family outings that if I was in high school I would have never said yes to. At the end of the evening, I looked back and realized it was actually pretty fun. I met some new people, supported a family member, and got free food out of it. If that doesn’t motivate you, well I have another example. After several years of working at my previous job I finally said yes to joining the company’s ball hockey team. I haven’t play ball hockey since quite possibly elementary school and I was reluctant to say yes right away. After a day of mulling it over I convinced myself it wasn’t too expensive and that I could make it work. Well the season is over now and I had tons of fun. After pretty much every game a few of us on the team would go out for beers as well. Meeting new people, getting exercise, having fun, and drinking beer. If I said no, what would I have done instead? Sat at home alone and watched more television? I think I made the right choice.

Just try and break your weekly habit and try something you’ve never done before.

I’ve also been teaching myself to be more spontaneous, actually to the point this summer where I was determining what I wanted to do on the weekend on split decisions. This was fun, but I can understand isn’t for everyone. However I will say, I was a person who would plan and pick days to do things. I still plan ahead for the future and I still mark calendars. But keeping your day open can be quite fun. Randomly messaging a friend to see what they are doing or getting invited to do something else, it’s easier to say yes when your day is open. Now I know it’s a lot harder when you have a relationship or responsibilities at home, but it’s still possible to keep your time available. Just make sure to push those I’m tired thoughts and go home habits out of your head. Even better is if your partner is up to this concept as well. If you do have a lot of responsibilities maybe you can block off a few hours one or two days a week for spontaneous ideas or activities. Just try and break your weekly habit and try something you’ve never done before. It can make the daily grind unnoticeable sometimes. So go ahead, challenge yourself. What are you waiting for?