The Small Thing I Did To Feel Happier And Much More Optimistic

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Perhaps, like me, you’re a creature of habit. Sure, I enjoy discovering a new author, restaurant or musician. But if I’m honest about what I want to read/eat/listen to on a Sunday eve, I lean into the familiar. Settling into my old navy bathrobe or scooping up a forkful of gooey mac and cheese is like visiting old friends. I feel warm. Comfortable.

But last June, standing in my usual spot before my usual class at my usual yoga studio, something shifted. To my right, a man was gushing about a sculpture garden, and I suddenly remembered the Glenstone Museum. It opened just before the pandemic, and its timed-entry tickets were hard to come by. Visiting fell off my radar during lockdown.

One part of me listened to the man rave — he was indeed talking about the Glenstone — while another part wondered when I stopped seeking something new.

When had I last gotten into my car or on the metro and truly steeped myself in the unfamiliar, even for an afternoon? Was I afraid I wouldn’t like what I found? Was I lazy? Stuck in a rut?

Yet another part of me, hearing the excitement in the man’s voice, decided to drop the self-analysis and just do something. When I got home, I logged onto the museum’s website and scored a spot for the following afternoon.

The next day, I was slightly nervous about what was only a casual outing (20 minutes from my house!). After I pulled into the museum parking lot, I wandered down a manicured gravel path into a vibrant meadow. Tall grass waved in the summer breeze, cicadas buzzed and the air smelled fresh. Shoulders relaxing, I turned to my left and saw… a 40-foot sculpture of a rocking horse head made entirely of flowering plants.

What the heck was this place?

I actually laughed aloud as my anxiety shifted to excitement. I was a funhouse Dorothy — what adventures awaited me in my own backyard?

As a yogi, I know that a small shift in a pose can sometimes create a large shift in my breathing. That day, when I finally went home, my bathrobe was just as familiar, but I was a little different. Slightly more open. Somehow, more alive. I didn’t make any pronouncements about finding a new way of living, posting inspirational memes on Facebook or starting a spreadsheet of places to visit. I simply decided to do (another) bite-sized something sometime soon.

Three weeks later, I met a friend in D.C.’s DuPont Circle, an area I don’t know well, for dinner. On impulse, I decided to carve out 90 minutes before the meal and jumped online to see what there was to do in the area. Planning an outing of less than two hours felt like another potentially tasty little experiment.

That’s how I happened on the Mansion on O Street, a crazy labyrinth of interconnected brownstones, chockablock with memorabilia, its 100 rooms navigable through 80 well-concealed secret doors. If you tug on a large mirror, it might open into a part of the museum you wouldn’t otherwise have seen. I wandered through the space, gawping at the rooms elaborately decorated in honor of Elvis, Rosa Parks and Star Trek. I was astonished that I’d never visited the place before, tingling at the idea of exploring the rooms with friends (which I did the following week).

Once again, after the spontaneous outing, I came home feeling happy, satisfied and somehow optimistic. I wasn’t giving up the bathrobe or the mac and cheese, yet my life felt a little spicier. Pleasantly so. I felt, well, more — more joy, more surprises — were newly available to me.

I could tell you about other mini-adventures I’ve created for myself, but I suspect you get the idea. I didn’t make any massive life changes or even any lasting decisions. All I did was try something new for just a few hours. Not a lot of planning, no big financial outlay and minimal risk. Yet the returns, like a small shift in a yoga pose, are a breath of fresh air.

 
When was the last time you pushed yourself outside your comfort zone? Let us know in the comments below.