Image: Maggie Smith
Looking for some positive activities?
Are you getting bored of surfing the internet and checking Facebook? Thinking about what to do next? Here is a list of 50 fun and positive activities to get you busy instantly :
- Do something you are afraid of. Approach someone you like but are afraid to talk to. Smile, say Hello, see where it goes from there. If you are afraid of speaking to a group, try to find a group and an excuse to speak something quick to this group. Do whatever floats your boat.
- Find someone to help, help the person and then slip away quietly. There is something so refreshing and meaningful about helping others. You feel totally stress free, you feel totally present in the moment and.. happy!
- Do a not-so-urgent task. Often we put great emphasis on the important and urgent tasks. There are a lot of small, interesting tasks that we keep postponing. Allow yourself some slack and do one of these small, feel good tasks – you might find some clues in the points to follow.
- Read a book. Have a book that you have been postponing on reading? Open it today.
- Try cooking a new recipe. Is there something you think you can’t prepare? Dare yourself to prepare it, search the internet for tips.
- Get up early in the morning and go for a jog.
- Join and attend a meetup. meetup.com is such a great way to transition from connecting on the internet to connecting in person. Find a group of your interest and attend their next meetup or suggest one if they don’t have any.
- Try a pencil sketch. Did you ever enjoy sketching/painting as a kid? Try it again today, it can still be fun.
- Pay a surprise visit to a friend. Make sure it is a good time, you don’t want to catch him cheating on his wife!
- Buy a small, surprise gift for a friend/loved one. Another way of pleasantly surprising those whom you care for, fostering goodwill and creating happiness.
- Clean up and decorate the house. If that is too much, just do a room or a particular corner of a room.
- Find and read an interesting book in a niche you never pick up. If you are a guy, I bet you never read any book on beauty tips or improving your culinary skills! Pick up something you would not otherwise read, sometimes you find useful insights in them.
- Play with a dog. They are such adorable animals, always ready for fun.
- Play with a kid. Also very adorable, although not always fun
- Listen to a song with full attention. Enjoy it fully, not with earphones on while you are busy doing something else. Really listen to it and enjoy every note.
- Eat a meal with full awareness. Totally focus on it, chew each bite consciously and savor it.
- Test your focus, pay attention to your breath for a while. Don’t try to change your natural breath pattern, don’t try breathing slower or deeper. Just observe your natural breath, it brings a sense of peace and calm.
- Find a beggar who is not asking for money. Give him something more than he would usually get. Observe his reaction.
- Go and test drive your dream car. You can own it when you have the money, but you can have a test drive and check it out right now.
- Take a ride out in the night. Ride your bike in the cool night breeze. Enjoy the empty roads. Stay safe!
- Attend a free class. A lot of arts classes will give you a free trial class. Attend one. If you like to continue, nothing like it!
- Try to brainstorm what you will like to leave to this world. What is a good life purpose to you? Use a paper and a pen, it helps clarify things.
- Play a sport. Not on your Xbox! Go out and play.
- Tell your friends how much you appreciate their company. Better still, send an e-card. You can tell your parents or siblings too.
- Decide a small step that you can take towards your dream goal right now, and then take it.
- Think of someone who had helped you in a time of need. Reconnect with this person and thank him/her again.
- Think of a positive person you will like to connect with. Talk to this person. If not that, then connect online. Connecting in person is preferable.
- Analyze your strengths. Its good to be aware of what you are good at. Think how you can add value to this world, and to yourself, through these strengths. Using pen and paper is again beneficial.
- Think of something that troubles you often. Think what can you do on your own towards a solution.
- Do something you are bound to fail at. It takes away the fear of failure, lightens you up and opens you up to try things you are afraid of.
- Look at some weakness you often find in others and that annoys the hell out of you. See how it relates to your own attitude. Have you been denying the same problem in you? Be true to yourself here.
- Go to a place you don’t otherwise go to. Do you visit museums, game shows, dance shows, music concerts, social gatherings? Rack your brains. Think of something that might be interesting. You don’t have to do something you are sure you don’t like or is of a negative nature.
- Dance while no one is watching you. Most of us are very conscious about dancing in public. Start at home and then progress on to the dance floor at the next party!
- Greet someone you don’t know and talk to them. Just pick out someone who looks interesting and talk to this person. It may end at ‘Hi’ or it may go on to become a deep and meaningful conversation, you never know! The exercise is about getting out of your comfort zone.
- Write a self portrayal. Describe yourself on paper. Re write that ‘About you’ section on Facebook!
- Try to listen to someone in a conversation. Most of us have a tendency to talk and have our ideas heard. People who really listen and try to understand are in such scarcity that others might pay you for it. For once, stop trying to talk and try to really understand the other person.
- Take a cold bath early in the morning. Cold water on your skin has a way of stopping the incessant mental chatter and opening up your senses. Don’t stand there thinking whether to do it or not, just pour it over your head! Do it in moderation though, and according to your local climate, you don’t want to have a cold 365 days a year.
- Find and learn a few good jokes to tell your friends. Sharing laughter is one of the ultimate highs.
- Spend a lazy Sunday. This is not for the perpetually lazy! This is for those who can’t stop working. Just have a lazy and unplanned day.
- Get wet in the rain. Most of the days you will be avoiding it, or cursing it for getting you late to work. For a change, just get wet and enjoy the feeling.
- Get a massage. Very relaxing and fun.
- Give a massage. Very relaxing(for the other person) and fun(for both of you).
- Write. When was the last time you wrote something? Most of us are so used to typing on computer these days. Write a note to someone, or better still, write a letter.
- Empty your mailbox. How many useless mails you have piled up in your mailbox. Get rid of them.
- Act nice to someone you don’t usually notice. Smile at the sweeper in your office, or the postman who brings your mail, or the gate keeper outside your apartment complex.
- Find a motivating wallpaper. Find and set a wallpaper that reminds you of your goals and motivates you.
- Imagine your dream life. So many of us focus a lot on worst case scenarios. We keep thinking about what can go wrong. For a change, think about what will happen if everything goes right. What will be your dream life like?
- Try yoga or stretching. Very relaxing and makes you feel good.
- Read the wikipedia page of an inspiring personality. Better still, read an inspiring autobiography.
- Write all your pending tasks in a to-do list. This way, you don’t have to keep thinking about them. This promotes more clarity and you can focus on executing them.
The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. –Ellen Parr
If you liked this list of positive activities, please share it with your friends. I’d appreciate it.
