Life's Spark

Perspective transgresses into a multitude of disciplines: architecture, design, science, law and well, life in general. We have all heard the “it’s all about perspective” line before, and while some of us hate to hear it, some truth can be found in it.

Something could change in shape, in colour, or your entire mood just by looking at it from another angle.

This can be applied to the most elaborate design processes to the most mundane everyday activity. Getting bored of your routines working from home, just change the order in which you do things and you might feel a little excitement and extra motivation rush through you.

I am a big advocate and believer in routines and rituals but even I sometimes get sick of repeating the same activities in the same order day in and day out. So I have learned that it is the little things you change that will make the biggest of difference. This goes down to lighting a different candle from the one you usually light or using a different straw to drink your coffee. It's going against what you usually gravitate towards to take you out of your comfort zone and keep life's spark alive.

I wish I didn't have to still say this, but with the "new" normal of working from home and life still being relatively slow; it is important to find joy in the little things and experience new things from the comfort of your own home.

It is the act of challenging yourself to try new things and go out of your way to approach an issue with a new perspective that will keep you on your toes and avoid the feeling of re-living the same day over and over. That feeling, in my experience only leads to lack of motivation, creativity and passion for what I do. Having something to look forward to on the daily, is how I have hacked the system of what hustle culture call "being in a rut".

Being in a rut in my opinion is a blessing in disguise, unless it lasts for more than a few weeks. These few weeks will be challenging of course but what comes out with you on the other end is worth it. Even if you constantly have something to look forward to, it is inevitable that there will be a low to compensate for all the highs. Don't avoid it, or bottle it in, let it in and accept it. Accepting the lows means you accept that the time has come to take a step back and work on yourself once again. You acknowledge this season of life that is dedicated to reflection and re-assessment of your priorities and what matters to you.

Without this work on the self, life stagnates and the mundane settles in. We will never grow to be exceptional or a better us, we will just grow to be old.

Therefore, experience new things, fail at them, succeed; whatever the outcome is, it remains a step towards keeping the spark of life alive.