The idea of routines has been on my mind this week.  You know from previous posts that I am a creature of habit.  I like having a routine and doing certain things at certain times.  I feel more in control of my day when I have a set out plan for what is going to happen.  It also keeps me organized and on track to have a schedule to adhere to.

This past week I have been nowhere near my normal routine and you know what?  I haven’t fallen apart.  The days have moved on as they always do and time has gone by just like normal and I am still here and haven’t gone to pieces.  In fact I have doing some great and inspired work.  It might not seem like a huge thing to you, but to a control freak like me this is nothing short of a miracle.

There have been times where things have not gone according to my “plan” and I have completely lost it.  Adam can attest to my horrible attitude when something out of the blue comes my way.  I almost turn into a small child having a temper tantrum.  I would always marvel at my husband’s ability to take everything that comes at him in stride.  He knows that there are certain things that he can’t change and rather than let it ruin his whole day and turn him into a moody teenager, he works around it and figures out a new plan.

And I think that attitude is starting to rub off on me.

As time goes on I am learning that I am in no way in control of the things around me.  Sure, I can have a routine and some semblance of order, but there will always be curve balls.  Life in general is one big curveball.  Letting my life come to a screeching halt whenever something goes awry is no way to live.  In fact it isn’t living at all.  I want to be able to say that I enjoyed life, that I was able to adapt and deal with any hardships that came my way.  I don’t want to look back and see that I pouted my life away or flew to pieces because something happened that I had no control over in the first place.

In light of this revelation (that only took 27 years for me to even begin to figure out) I want to try and step out of my comfort zone a little more.  I want to try things that aren’t in my routine.  Let my schedule be more of a loose guideline than a strict plan I have to follow or lose all hope.  I’m betting that amazing things will come my way and I will be able to seize them much better than if I had stuck to my rigid plan.

What about you?  Are there things in your life that you can let go of?  Are there changes you can make to your routine that might allow you to experience something new and amazing?  If something has been holding you back or you have been waiting for a nudge, consider this it.  Try something new, step out of your comfort zone, forget the plan for a little while.

I promise you that you won’t fall apart and you might even grow just a little bit.