Page 21 - BOL Apr 22 Edition

Dear Alice
Dear Alice

Life
Bored with Life
Bored with

Dear Alice,
I am focused on my career and it’s good but my life feels like a cross between the Truman Show and Groundhog
Day. I wake up late, rush to work, work until I’m exhausted, drive home thinking about how much I hate my
life, eat dinner in front of the tv, go to bed and then I lay there thinking about doing it all over again tomorrow.
Everyday. Every single day of the week. On the weekends I drink too much, lay around feeling sorry for myself
and then I start to dread Monday. Is there more to life than this? Surely this can’t be it! I see posts on social
media of people having fun being happy, I just don’t know how to get there. Save me from this nightmare!
Gabrielle

Hi Gabrielle,
Humans are such interesting creatures, we crave routine and stability yet when we have it, we become complacent. It’s
helpful to think of this from an evolutionary perspective; once upon a time we would find a nice cave and use all the local
resources, but then the resources would dry up or the season would change and we would have to move on. I see your
challenge in a similar light; you have your needs met, you seem to feel that you are on the right path and yet something has
occurred where it doesn’t fulfil you anymore. You’re craving change. Sometimes I joke around and comment that maybe
we will never be fulfilled, maybe we will always be searching for the next best thing. Maybe that’s what has driven our
evolution. Maybe that’s true for some or maybe it’s just a theory. This speculation might help you to understand what is
going on inside your brain, but let’s have some “real talk”. Your routine isn’t working for your higher self, it isn’t feeding your
soul or building you up. It sounds like a feedback loop of distress and loathing. This needs to change. Focus on the getting
the basics right and build from there. Getting enough sleep is priority one. Number two is drinking water and eating a
varied diet of (mostly) unprocessed food. Those two things are going to be beneficial to your mood and improve your
ability to cope with stressors. I won’t go into detail about self-care today, but that’s number three. At any stage, in fact every
single day, I want you to ask yourself, “What small thing can I do today to top up my happy card?” Do you want to get a
juice on your way to work? Do you want to stop at your favourite park on the way home? Do you want to take a 10 minute
morning tea break and stand in the sun? Do one small thing every day that makes you feel joy. Think of your happy card like
a battery pack, if you’re running really low (like I think you may be), maybe you need two or three little things a day until the
battery starts to recharge. It really is the little things in life and when you pay attention to the present moment and allow
yourself to really enjoy it, life glows a bit brighter. When you shift your focus away from everything that’s annoying you, to
those little joyful moments that you create, I hope that you can get back that little spring in your step. Lastly, try a detox
from social media. If you require more ideas, talk to your friends/family/coworkers/significant other, maybe you’ll find that
you have more in common than what meets the eye.

If you’ve got a question for Alice that
you’d like published, email it to:
@alicejenkinsau moretonbay@bestoflocal.com.au
April 2022 www.bestoflocal.com.au 21