7 Benefits of Being Spontaneous

I am a planner, a scheduler, a live and die by the calendar freakazoid.



Spontaneous isn't even really in my vocabulary. Ask my better half, I schedule having fun.

So my behavior last Wednesday was not me. It was some impostor that looked like me. (And don't tell anyone but I really hope she comes back)

This impostor took me so far out of my comfort zone, I'm just now being able to write this post. It took me several days to re-grow my mangled finger-nails, lower my blood pressure, and realize what actually happened.

It all started with my obsessive need to write things down. At any point in my life my surroundings usually look like this:

Welcome to the Crazy World of Laura

This is how I organize my post, keep track of information I want to remember, and other random facts I think I should know.

You see I have a horrible short-term memory. Okay, I admit my long-term one isn't that great either. I find it just takes so much effort to remember and it's just easier for me to write stuff down.

On Wednesday I was going through my pile of index cards, napkins (relatively clean) and post-it notes, trying to make sense of the phrases, websites, and random quotations I had written down. When I came across this website.

After I cruised the web trying to remember what this was even from, it all came back to me.

On our way home for Christmas we drove by this billboard:

The Lion King, the Broadway Show. Picture from here.

The Lion King was being performed in our neck of the woods!  In hopes of experiencing it someday I had frantically (and wishfully) written down the website to check out later.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, The Lion King and have always wanted to see the broadway show. Because it's supposed to be amazing. And something I should have added to my bucket list. Plus I had never seen a Broadway show before, something I think everyone should do at least once in their life.

I called, found cheap last minute tickets, and leaned over to my dear friend CP and whispered "Do you want to go see the most popular broadway show…..TONIGHT?" It was 4pm.

From that point on it was a snowball effect.

The frantic night was exhilarating, captivating, and just plain fun! Here are a few great things I learned about being spontaneous:

(1) Builds your faith. When we left for the almost two hour drive to the play, we had no guarantee we could get in or get tickets. But we decided to take the risk.

(2) Forces you outside your comfort zone. My mind was going 100 miles a minute on the drive to the play. I hadn't bitten my nails so much since my fourth grade math class. It was a nice growing experience for my Type A personality.

(3) Gives you a retreat from the mundane.  In the car, my friend CP remarked "It's funny how an hour ago, I had no idea we would be doing this." That was so exhilarating. Just taking one night and retreating from the daily routine to do something extraordinary.

(4) Helps you appreciate your routine. I had to laugh because due to spontaneity (i.e. lack of planning) we failed to factor in our need for nutrition. We managed to keep from starving in the end, but it helped me realize how I sometimes I really do appreciate my routine and making sure I get to eat.

(5) Allows you to experience beauty. The Lion King Broadway show is beyond description. The costumes, actors, and musicians are incredible. It was wonderful just to sit back and experience the splendor.

(6) Encourages relationship building. On our little adventure we laughed, we cried from laughing so hard, and we almost peed our pants from laughing so hard. It's a night the three of us will never forget. A wonderful bonding experience.

(7) Gives you an excuse for a midnite snack. No explanation necessary I guess. Except McD's drive-through taste a lot better at 11:30 at night than any other time.

Go ahead, take the risk and be spontaneous today!