Choosing between dull/routine and exciting/different

 A time often comes in my life when I have to choose between (dull and routine) and (exciting and different). And I choose to write about this topic in this section because it doesn’t strike me as immediately obvious that one should always, or even most of the time, be chosen over the other.

Sticking to routine has value. Following a schedule, maintaining positive habits and building upon one’s skillsets are useful because the pursuit of a single skillset over time gives one an advantage over one’s competitors, in career and most venues in life.

Even a scenario as simple as spotting a public piano while with some friends is enough to demonstrate the value of sticking to routine. When you spot the piano, there is a large crowd nearby. You both take turns and sit down to play. Your friend had intended to practice regularly, and had once made a commitment to daily practice, but had given up on it, and never taken it back up. Now, when he plays, his rustiness is quite evident, and though he outplays his expectations and is happy, he is not as happy as he should be. On the other hand, you have made the decision to practice daily, and do so even when it is unpleasant. When you sit down, you are not quite satisfied with your performance and quality, but it strikes all your friends, and even the surrounding crowd as impressive.

You have effectively become the champion in this social environment. You have triumphed and demonstrated your competence as a piano player and entertainer. It is my belief that life is full of situations like these, some tiny and some large, where having advantages over others is valuable and elevates one’s position in the hierarchy in life.

On the other hand, humanity needs some sustenance and reward to work towards its goals. There needs to be some source of internal and external motivation, that pushes us to do our very best and put our right foot forward. In the absence of motivation, mental sluggishness and demotivation occurs, and we struggle to see the light and value of the goals we pursue.

If I were given a rare (say, once in half a year) opportunity to go meet up with an old friend, I would give up that day’s obligations, and choose to spend my time enjoying myself at my friends house above filling in my checklist. The benefit there is that the pleasure and sense of well-deserved reward I would feel would push me to continue working, so that I may encounter such scenarios. Such indulgences should be taken with the caveat that too much indulgence weakens the former goal of routine and self-discipline, and the boundary delineating “too much” is hardly clear. So, making the latter choice is, in my opinion, a gut decision.