Why We Should Revitalize Our Lives.

Peter Wright

Revitalize has been on my mind lately. It started with a conference I attended at the end of April. That was a conference to look at revitalizing declining church congregations, but it had some valuable lessons for our personal and business lives.

Early morning sun behind greenhouse tunnel

Warmer mornings and earlier sunrises make it easier to get up earlier. Last week I took a step to revitalize my life by getting up at 5:30 instead of 6:15 and getting out for my daily walk before 6:00 am.

The scene in the photo on the left greeted me as I turned back into our drive. The rising early morning sun shining through the tunnel was magical. At the end of a good walk, It inspired me, made me feel good to be alive and ready to grab the day by the throat and get things done.

I have been up and out walking before 6:00 am each day except Sunday, for the last 2 weeks. It means I get an earlier start to my work day, feel revitalized, invigorated and happier. That great start to the day helps keep my thoughts positive and makes it easier to ignore the minor frustrations and irritations that plague all of our days at times.

Another habit I follow is reading something positive every morning. Since the beginning of the year, I have been reading The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Each day of the year has a page with a quotation from one of the Stoic philosophers and an explanation by the authors.

Today’s is titled “How you do anything is how you do everything“.

The quotation is from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, 8:22

“Pay attention to what’s in front of you–the principle, the task, or what’s being portrayed”

The authors expand on this by reminding us that what we are doing now is the important thing, we can speculate on what tomorrow might bring, but at this moment, we have no way of knowing with certainty that we will even be alive tomorrow. So let’s get today done properly.

Revitalize to Thrive in a Changing World

There is no question that the world is changing. I wrote about adaptability being essential for survival in a changing world in this post in April 2018 and earlier posts in March of the same year.

If we continually look for ways to revitalize our lives, we will change our perspective and be more adaptable to ride the waves of change that are coming at us in many areas of our lives. Work, business, recreation, health services, entertainment, personal transport, purchasing options, changes are happening everywhere.

We can resist change – and some changes should be resisted. However, most changes are going to happen whether we oppose them or not. It’s our choice whether we ignore, get around or adopt them. We might resist some as a matter of principle, because of our beliefs, personal or cultural biases. We might refuse to accept others because they seriously affect our liberty, mobility or ability to go about our daily lives without the constant scrutiny of a big brother government. Accepting or resisting change will have consequences, some good for us, some not so good.

Revitalizing our outlook on life will give us options and prepare us for these changes – and their consequences.

How do we revitalize our lives?

Reflecting on the conference mentioned above, one of the presenters spoke about looking at life from a different perspective. He used the example of a new priest arriving at a small, rural, long-established parish and trying to get the congregation to agree on his “Mission Imperative”. What he thought was his purpose for being there. After a frustrating period with a serious lack of cooperation from the congregation, he realized that he should be following a “Mission Interrogative”. Finding out how he could serve the congregation, not get them to change their traditional approach to fit his schedule.

We can have an interrogative approach to a changing world. Ask questions, look for ways that the changes can make our lives, easier, happier, less stressful. Decide whether to embrace, accept, ignore or resist those changes. Reflect on the consequences of our decisions. Then act, do what we think is right for us, not merely follow the herd.

Taking up a new activity is a wonderful way to revitalize our lives. After a lifetime of believing I was useless at music, I bought a guitar am taking lessons and can play some simple tunes. I have started a study course on the history of Christianity, become active in a church after an absence of over 40 years. This week, I started exploring two new business opportunities.

The simplest way of all is to get up early and go for a walk or a run.

How are you going to revitalize your life? Leave a comment.

change graphic by geralt / pixabay

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