The Comfort of Repetition

Sometimes its hard to break out of a mold. Your life tends to follow patterns. Wake up, school, work, play, sleep. Obviously, some order is needed so you can, for example, become specialized in a certain area. Repetition is comfortable and needed in most jobs in the name of efficiency. Waking up and going to bed are also important for physical well being and mental health. Repetition within school as well as going to school every day is needed so that you can learn. But that other part of the pattern of your life doesn’t need to follow a pre-destined order. Playing in different ways is definitely healthy, and experiencing a broader part of life can increase your understanding of the world.
Sometimes, my play gets stuck in a rut. By play, I mean going out to restaurants, the path that I take my morning jog on, dishes I cook, books I read, parts of Prague I visit, etc. You find something that you really like, and you continue to do it because you like it so much. We originally wanted to go to a different restaurant every time in Prague. We failed pretty quickly and already tend to go to Friends. It’s a really fun place, with a great atmosphere and great food. Of course, there are tons of other places in Prague that I should visit, but I’ve found my comfort in Friends, and it tends to be a place we visit. The problem is it is hard to break out of this rut. It’s scary to try other places. You never know what you are going to like, and what it is going to be like. If I jog a different path, I won’t know where I’m going. But at the same time, I would be able to see more and learn more about the city. It’s good to break out of repetition.
Why do we like repetition so much? It creates the familiar and it reminds us of our home. We create a group of people that we like and an atmosphere that we enjoy. For example, right now I’m typing with my friends in room 305, the room we always chill in. I’ve created a little Lindstrom in Prague, but with its own little quirks. But Lindstrom is a small town, and I’m limiting my experiences by trying to create a new home within the city. I need to actively increase the size of my comfort bubble and increase my capacity to enjoy life. This can be scary; what if I don’t like what I’ve found? But do you know what’s worst? Not finding what’s better.