Action Steps for Creating An Inspiring Life

In my last post, I introduced the concept of ‘texture’ and how bringing texture into your life creates variety, novelty, richness, depth and contrast – all of which are key parts of having a life that is fun and enjoyable.

I’m no expert on life, but I’m fairly certain that as humans, we’re supposed to have fun and get good stuff out of this life before time is up.
And, ensuring that happens is a job that rests squarely on your shoulders.

I wrote about this in May last year…that I began noticing that I had way more fun and energy in life, despite being crazy packed with my schedule, when I was actively pursuing fun, novel, new, experiences. I felt less tired packing 40 hours of fun into a 30 hour trip than I did in my days when I was at home chilling out. Don’t misunderstand…there is time and space for chilling out.

Creating texture in your life is not about going out to find the biggest, most excessively fun thing you can find to do.

It’s about creating a layering effect of sensations and ‘things to notice’, where you’re building a deeply enriching experience for yourself.

Even in your rest time, you can create texture and enhance the experience. The Danish word ‘hygge’, sums this up. The word represents a “concept that cannot be translated to one single word but encompasses a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being through enjoying the simple things in life”, has become so popular in recent years.”

I mentioned in my last post that going on vacation is one way to bring texture into your life. But vacations don’t happen every day, or even every year, for many folks.

So today I’ll cover how can you easily bring texture into your daily life. Because remember, having a life full of texture means you have a life that is not one-note. That keeps you connected to yourself. And that is engaging.

Create Your Daily Texture

Meet interesting people.

Since you don’t know if someone will be interesting until you learn a bit about them, back the concept up even farther then to make it just: Meet people. Talk to people. Find out about them.

Case in point: The front desk guy at that random Brooklyn hotel I wrote about last time, that did texture so well, turned out to be friends with one of my friends. And the only way I found that out was by talking to him as I checked in.

Break up the routine by going out to eat after work once in a while if you normally would just head home (preferably to a locally owned place, they always have the best character).

I could easily make a simple meal at home on-the-cheap, and I do most nights. But a few times a month I head out, on a weeknight when there are specials (half-price bottles, anyone?) and usually a quiet restaurant, and have a meal out. And not a rushed one either. Hour, two hours, more?…It doesn’t matter the time, the slowing-down bit is part of what makes it nice.

I sometimes dine with friends but I also dine alone, the conversation is great either way. (See previous point above) I enjoy getting to know the staff, and chatting with them becomes another form of texture in my life. I now have people I look forward to going to see at several places around my area and this has created a bright spot in the mid-week that breaks up the usual weekday rigors. Sure, the meal costs more than what I’d make at home, but what I’m getting is far greater than the price of that meal.

Start noticing things – in your life, in nature, in other humans. There is so much texture already provided for you, if you’d just notice it.

How the trees set against the blue sky, the little mannerisms of how a person is interacting with the world… It’s fascinating to witness. The picture at the top of the post of the pour-over coffee was taken at a local restaurant where I was going to break up the mid-week monotony, had gotten to know my regular server at that restaurant, found out we both love the finer points of coffee and its brew methods, and so he brought in his personal coffee-making gear one night so he could share his coffee-making skills with me and the other diners and staff that were in the restaurant that night.

(If you’re going to drink coffee at 10pm, have a plan for what you’re going to do with how awake you’re going to be. I stayed up writing for a good 3 hours. Which was totally worth it to do once in a blue moon. It was such a fun experience, and a memory I won’t soon forget. That’s texture for you.)

Purposely seek out variety and different experiences

A question I started asking myself daily, “am I creating texture, am I creating variety, am I creating a life full of layers?” And if what I’d been doing has been fairly one-note, I make a change by determining what the next opportunity available to me is for going in the opposite direction or to do something different.

Here are some questions for determining if an experience will provide texture to your life: “is it a new experience for me?” “is it novel?” “will it bring me joy?” “am I unsure of what it will feel like?” The answers to those questions can help you determine if a particular experience is worth pursuing for the texture it will bring to your life.

Those are just a few suggestions of how you can create more texture in your life. What else could we do to add more texture? The whole point is to create a life that is rich, engaging, and inspiring to you. And to maximize your experience while you’re here on this spinning organic spaceship that’s hurtling through space.