10 Ways to Make Your Life More Interesting Today

Let’s face it; sometimes life can become pretty routine. Maybe it has been awhile since you shook things up a bit and did something new. Well, there are plenty of things that you can do right now to spice life up a little. Here are just a few of the easy ways that you can make your life more interesting and fun today.

Also check out part 2 where I list out more interesting things you can do today.

1. Listen to some different kinds of music.

If you’re still listening to the same songs that you were years ago, than it’s time to try something new. Do you listen to Hard Rock and Rap mostly? Try Jazz or House Music. The great thing about this is with hundreds of thousands of artists out there, there is always something new. Type in the style you want into youtube and listen to what comes out. You can also try Pandora and set it to the genre you want to explore.

2. Be open and talk to people

This one is probably one of the easiest things you can do to make your life more interesting, but it’s amazing how many people don’t do this. The best part is that you can do this anywhere. If you’re shy, than just start small by saying hi to people as they walk past you.

Eventually you’ll overcome your shyness and people will start to open up to you. You’ll even find some people will start conversations with you just because you said hi. Once you’re comfortable doing that then you can move onto starting a conversation. An easy way to do this is to talk about something in the environment around you. For example, if it is raining out and you forgot an umbrella and the person next to you has one you can say how you wish you had brought one. Keep in mind, there will be some people who won’t talk much back, but if you are persistent about this you can be in a talkative state all the time. You’ll meet some very interesting and funny people.

3. Try a new kind of food.

Be bold in this. This doesn’t mean trying that new sandwich at the place you eat at every day. Totally get lost in another cuisine. Try Ethiopian or Afghanistan food. Go anywhere that serves food you have never eaten before. You can always ask the people who work there what to order. Let them know you’ve never eaten it before and that you’re looking for a really good dish to try. They’ll know what is popular on the menu and make some good recommendations for you. They’ll even help you in pronouncing the names of the dishes you’re ordering. Chances are you’ll get a friendly waiter who will give you a general run down of what the cuisine is like and how it is prepared.

4. Write something…anything.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any writing talent. That hasn’t stopped other people before. The first step is to figure out what to write. You can write a short story, poem, blog, haiku or comment on a blog post (hint-hint: you can do this below). It can be fiction or non-fiction. Getting started is the hard part and some people can’t get past this. Often times, I start writing and just let things come out. I’ll usually go back to the beginning and erase the first few sentences and replace them with something better. If you just keep going, you’ll eventually write something that is really good. Even if it isn’t, you’ll have something that you created that is all your own. I’ve found things I’ve written years ago that I don’t even remember writing and it’s like you’re talking to yourself from the past. And if you choose to write a poem and it is your first time writing a poem, be warned: It probably will be bad. Poetry isn’t easy to write. Believe me, I’ve found some of my own from years ago…let’s just leave it at that.

5. Make a video and put it onto Youtube

Every minute 24 hours of footage is uploaded to youtube. If you’ve never done this before, you should. This is the only thing on the list that really requires a special kind of tool since you’ll need a video camera of some sort to do this. It doesn’t need to be high-tech since even digital cameras can record videos that can be uploaded to youtube. The equipment is only the starting point; you need to figure out what to record. This can be anything. Reenact a scene from your favorite movie with some friends, just talk into the camera about something you read or, if you’re really ambitious, create and edit you’re own short film. After it is uploaded, you can share it with your friends or anyone else that you want and read any comments that the people leave for you.

6. Try Origami

The traditional folk art form of Japan. It isn’t as difficult as it might seem. There are plenty of places on the internet to find out how to do origami. There are many simple designs to start off with such as the crane or American Eagle. Once you become better at doing the simple designs you can move on to the really complex designs such as the Alien or the Eiffel Tower. If origami isn’t your style, you can also learn how to make a paper rose out of a common napkin. It is really easy to learn and once you do it a few times, it is easy to remember.

7. Try a new board game

This goes beyond the traditional Clue or Monopoly variety. There are so many board games out there that you’ve probably never tried. If you like Chess than make sure to try Go, Shogi or Mancala. Also try Axis and Allies or Settlers of Catan. All these games require strategy, not just luck like many board games out there. These games range from the relatvely new Settlers of Catan released in 1995 to Go that has origins that date to 4th Century BC. It is remarkable that Go is one of the first board games to be created and today remains popular within Asia and is becoming more popular in the West. Most of these games can be found online in one form or another. It will take some time to get used to their gameplay, but you’ll soon get things down.

8. Start planning for a big trip.

Making plans for your next trip somewhere can be fun. You get to look at the places that you are considering going to and figure out the things that you are going to see. For several weeks or months you get to imagine the things you’ll do on your trip. It gives you something to look forward to. It will be even more fun for you if you haven’t been on a trip in a long time. The planning phase is a time of excitement. Where do you want to go? Someplace you’ve never been in your own country or somewhere international? Perhaps you want to go to a festival like Carnival or the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. Even if you don’t have the time or money to go on a trip any time soon that shouldn’t stop you. Eventually you’ll go on a trip. Making plans to travel somewhere makes it more likely that you’ll actually go there someday.

9. Learn a foreign language completely different from your own

Ok, let me clarify this one. I know that these are suppose to be things that you can do immediately, but this really is something you can do right away. I’m not asking that you become fluent in an afternoon — that is impossible. What you can do is learn a few basic words and phrases. This is something you can do right away. Even if you have no intention of using the language or becoming fluent, it is still interesting to see how another’s language works and looks like. Take Swahili for instance. Its look and sound is very different from English. You can find many sites on the internet that will show you words and their pronunciation.

10. Go to a concert of a band you don’t know

There are probably bands that play in your area all the time that you don’t know. They could be local bands or they could just be bigger music groups you don’t know. Either way, check the places in the area that normally have live music and pick something. Often you can find free or inexpensive concerts for new and up and coming artists. You could discover somebody and end up having a lifelong love for their music.