Why you feel creatively stale and how to shift it
On the 'ordinary orbits' we follow in our lives
In the early pandemic years, like many others, my world got very small. I live in NYC--your classic metropolis--and it was even true here. My daily life took up the space of a computer screen and a few Brooklyn blocks.
As this was happening, I noticed myself having fewer and fewer ideas. There is likely a tangle of reasons this occurred, and yet, I'm pretty sure the major one was the size of my life. Not enough novelty was coming in, so less novelty was coming out.
I've come to think of experience as getting stuck in 'ordinary orbits' -- tracing the same paths through our lives again and again without noticing.
So this week I'm sharing some thoughts on ordinary orbits and how to shift them.
Stay warm,
~ Lucy
WHAT IS AN ORDINARY ORBIT?
Our orbits are the paths we cut through the geographies of our lives. They’re shaped by the places we go, the people we talk to, the content we consume, the food we eat … the list continues.Â
Orbits become ordinary when we’ve travelled them so long there’s no part that surprises or enlivens us without effort. We look up after some amount of time and realize we’ve been passing the same objects, experiences, and ideas ad nauseam.
Deliberately shifting or disrupting your orbits is a powerful way to find inspiration in your daily life.
HOW TO SHIFT YOUR ORBITS
Start by making a mind map of your regular habits and commitments: the things you do daily and the people or places you visit most weeks.Â
Reflect on your experience of each habit or commitment. What’s your attitude to them? How does doing them make you feel? Record all of this on your map. Â
Note the places where you feel most unsatisfied or underwhelmed. Choose one that calls to you most.
What’s a small change you make? Try it out. Even if you only do it once, you’ll learn something new about yourself and the things that light (or don’t light) you up.