Routine - A boon or a curse?

Routine - is something that we get tired of. And yet when you are actually doing something different, you cannot wait to fall back to the routine. Why is routine distressing, yet comforting? Exasperating, yet soothing? Unvarying, yet worth looking forward to?

How can everyday activities affect our mood and morale? The answer is simple, yet multifaceted. The predictability of the routine is what makes it so welcoming to us - almost like coming back home everyday. We know what lies ahead of us and we know how to get it done. The familiarity with a task is what makes it soothing. A gypsy would argue that staying in one place or doing the same thing for extended period of time is against their ingrained behaviors. But then the gypsy's routine can be defined as constantly changing or moving from place to place.

No one can escape routine. Its definition changes with individual scenario. Man cannot control his destiny. He can only control his actions. He must do something different and adapt to change in order to stand out. However, in order to prove himself he has to dependably get through the commonplace tasks, chores and duties that bind him to his mission i.e. routine.

This does not imply that one has to be complacent and not attempt to do the extraordinary. But in order to reach that goal one has to be consistent. Oscar Wilde has said, “Consistency is the last resort of the unimaginative”. Well, no offense to Mr. Wilde, but in my experience, I have come to believe that consistency and perseverance are the key ingredients for successful accomplishment of our objectives. Just as, Mr. Wilde consistently and routinely delivered literary masterpieces, routine is the bane of our existence.