A Change Will Do You Good

“Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil.”

–Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Custom House”

One of the reasons why I set up this here stoop is because I felt like I was flopping about in some pretty worn-out, predictable soil. The other reason: I wanted to not only tell good stories, but focus on growth and change in all its forms.

After a couple of years at my other space, I felt too hogtied to do that.

So this past Friday night, I headed out with a longtime friend of mine for what appears to be a new monthly ritual: scrapbooking for five hours with other women from all walks of life . Though I am about as creative and crafty (not to mention, patient) as a chimpanzee, what’s good about these evenings is that I can talk with my friend — who is a fellow parent and entrepreneur — for long stretches of time without the usual interruptions of cell phones, children, deadlines and other obligations. What’s also good is that we can also speak openly and honestly, without input or eyerolls from our spouses.

It happens, you know.

One of the things that came out of our chats this past Friday night is that while we both enjoy what we do for a living and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, we both feel like we need a new challenge. We both discussed how you reach a point where you recognize you’re getting up every day, doing the same things you know how to do and doing them well. But you also recognize those things are getting to be things you can do blindfolded, or things that you’re doing just to keep your hand in your area of expertise, without moving any closer to that goal you’ve set off in the distance.

The moral to the story: We both agreed it was time to stretch ourselves, test ourselves, find a way to build upon what we know so that we can create something different, fresh, better. Even better than that: We got past that acknowledgement and started talking each other through healthy and realistic ways to get from point A to point B. So the evening was not only fun, but fruitful too.

I even got some scrapbooking done.

Acknowledging that there is no sense in going through one’s life feeling stuck, stale, sluggish or sleepy is one thing. But doing as my friend and I’ve been doing — taking the actual steps to grow and achieve that logical next step — is something quite different, something that I believe is important to one’s well being. So I would like to hear from you about what you do to get out of a rut and grow. Or, if you’re in a rut, I’d like to hear what you might need in order to get where you’d like to be. Granted, the older we get, the more obligations and complications we have and so it is not so easy to just make a change on the fly. But day to day, it is the little things we do, the little lists we make, the bold steps we take that help us inch along, closer and closer to this end or dream we have.

For more on this subject:

Author Gretchen Rubin extols the virtues of undertaking a big project.

The lovely OTJ (who I was fortunate enough to see twice in the past week) explored the grounding influence of generations of women.

Arkie Mama explores the depths of a woman’s strength.

JakelliesMom reminds us to be idealistic.

Nola says patchouli is a mighty fine pick-me-up.

And for fun, Peonies and Polaroids found us a good present for all our hard work.