Sometimes in life you feel like you’re in a rut. To help yourself through this period, go out and do something about it. More than just doing something, which is a bit aimless, do something really different. The reasoning behind this is simple: It wakes up your mind and makes you see life from a new perspective. And this, in turn, makes you feel more alive.

Here's a good example — say you’re a person with a steady, long-term office job and a fairly sedentary life. Then, out of nowhere, someone suggests that you take up weight lifting. Your first reaction is likely to be, “Why would I want to do that?”

You may not want to lift weights, but once you start it you might discover that it’s so far removed from your daily routine that it provides new stimulation. Besides, weight lifting is extremely good for strengthening bones and toning muscles.

Gain a new perspective

Doing something totally different in your life gives you a new perspective. It’s a bit like driving along the usual way home, accidentally making a wrong turn, and finding a whole new and pleasant neighborhood.

Of course, the wrong turn could lead into a really unpleasant neighborhood where you think you were lucky to get out alive. Regardless, recalling the experience might still amaze and thrill you months later. It may provide party conversation too. That’s because you did something different.

We are all aware that doing the same thing over and over can be maddening. But often we do just that without realizing it. We drive to work each day the same way and drive home the same way. Talk to the same people at work, and too often about the same stuff. Eat the same kind of meals, with minor variations, day after day. Watch the same boring television.

Where to start?

Getting started, particularly with something new, is the most difficult part. So here is a straightforward guide on how to begin making real changes to your life.

• First, stop and think. Write down aspects of your daily life that seem too repetitive.
• Second, list some changes you would like to make in that routine. Put down everything you think of. You can sort them out later.
• Third, sort through your ideas and narrow them down.
• Fourth, decide what you are going to do that is very different. Set a goal.
• Fifth, do it.

Get creative with your life

Doing something different increases your creativity and that, in turn, increases your productivity. Here are some ideas for you to consider. As you read through them, some may appeal to you, others won’t. Make notes on more ideas that are likely to come to you as you go along.

• Go a whole day as if you are left-handed, or vice versa if you are a lefty. Things you would do on autopilot with your right hand you now have to stop and think about first. It’s awkward, but that's the point: Doing something different makes you think.
• Cook a new type of cuisine for a week. Have others try it with you.
• Rent foreign films. Watch them with various friends.
• Read a book you don’t think you will like. Discuss it with others.
• Take a local college course in Egyptology. Or mathematics. Or anything.
• Be a volunteer.
• Take up dancing.
• Swim three times a week.
• Start jogging.
• Invite someone you would like to know better for tea or coffee.
• Shave in a different pattern each morning.
• Wear a weird shirt.
• Take classes on yoga, or tai chi, or karate.

Go for it. You will be glad you tried it.