Every Now And Then Just Do It

By Tim O’Brien

When was the last time you did something spontaneous? Just dropped your current task and did something different on the urge of a friend, the plea of a child or the thought of another?

Never? Not for a long time? Can’t remember the last time?

These are common responses for many of us. Are we really that busy that we never have time to change plans on short notice? Isn’t it more a mind-set than a temporal reality?

There are several benefits to adding a little spontaneity to our life.

1. Shock value: how surprised would your husband, wife, child or friend be if you just called and said, “I’ll be home in 10 minutes. Let’s go to the beach, the ball game, or away for the weekend.” Pleasant surprises for the people you love and share life with strongly reinforces their feelings. The spontaneity is overt evidence that you thought about and planned something because of your feelings for them.
2. Breaking routine helps to knock us out of boring, sterile grooves that can restrict creativity. This is especially important when there are lingering problems that appear to defy solving. We might be too close to the situation to get the big picture needed to solve it. We might be so emotionally or physically tired, that we just go through the motions of problem solving. When this happens, it’s time to close our Daytimer. It’s time to get out of the office and do something different to give both our conscious and subconscious mind the opportunity to rest and organize our recent thoughts.
3. When you feel out of control, as if your work directs you, instead of you directing it, do something to reassert yourself. Spontaneity proves that you are in control.

Stop and take a short sabbatical. Go to lunch early. Make a personal call that you would not normally make. Put the job that makes you feel out of control into your drawer. Put it in the penalty box for an hour while you work on something else.

Focus in the present moment. Breathe deeply. You choose the work, it doesn’t choose you. Once you’re clear on this, get back to your work, but on your terms.

“I can’t just take an afternoon off, or stop working on a project simply because it makes me feel out of control. That’s capricious, whimsical.” If you got stuck behind an accident and it held you up for three hours, what would you do? Sit there! You might use whatever you had with you to make the most of the time, but you probably wouldn’t get done what you’d planned.

If you suddenly became ill or injured yourself and had to stay in bed for several days, you’d find a way to make up the lost time, wouldn’t you? It’s like the extra $50 we don’t have for ourself, but can find to pay that traffic ticket.

The extra benefit of spontaneity is that we often feel refreshed, and invigorated after we’ve acted impulsively. Yes, you must use spontaneity in moderation, or it will become a crutch we use to avoid tough times. However, used correctly, it can be a way to strengthen relationships, solve problems and reassert control.