Recapture Your Youth

I was browsing the Good Housekeeping website and found this interesting article. I would probably try doing it this weekend. Anyways, read on (and try it too) :)

Three Ways to Recapture the Girl You Used to Be

By Barbara Sher

The life you want is probably the life you have -- but with the best of your younger days added in. How do you revive the "you that you used to be"? By looking back at the things in your life that once gave you pleasure. To get started, do the easy exercises below.

1) Think about a small object or article of clothing you've kept over the years. Write down three things that you associate with it. Let's say the object you have in mind is a vase that you picked up at a gallery in Santa Fe when you were driving across the country with your senior-year roommate.

Close your eyes and think. Then write. You may find that you've jotted down "college pottery class," "time with girlfriend," and "figuring out how to read a map."

2) On the same page, write down at least three things you enjoyed doing when you were a child. Then write at least three more activities you enjoyed as a teen, and another three from your days as a young adult. These can be big or little things, solo or group undertakings. Don't censor yourself; sometimes the silliest-sounding items can open a rich path of association.

3) Add anything you've tried and liked as an adult but just haven't found time for in a while. You should have a list of at least 12 activities, maybe even 20 or more. Now comes the fun part: Do everything on the list -- once. Do only one thing a week if you like, but don't stop until you've done every single thing. Ride a bike. Sing a song. Write a song. Read under the piano. Travel -- if not cross-country, then to a town or neighborhood you've never visited.

Okay, you can probably think of a million stumbling blocks to getting started, so here's my advice: Stop thinking! If you feel you have no time, try dropping your most hated chore from your to-do list. Or maybe you think you're too old. We're all traumatized by birthdays. But think of how foolish you will feel at 60, 70, or 80 if you thought 30, 40, or 50 was "too old."

Why should small actions like the ones you've listed be such a big deal? Because they will wake up the senses that filled your life when you were in your most creative years. You'll learn -- or remember -- how powerful it is to do even the simplest thing you love, instead of just thinking, talking, or writing about it.

-- Barbara Sher is the author of It's Only Too Late If You Don't Start Now