The Excitement Factor

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My husband and I have recently returned from living abroad in Costa Rica for the past year. We’ve been members of mainstream society now for about four weeks, complete with apartment and a full-time job (for my husband).

We’ve gotten into a routine. My husband works, I clean the house, do the laundry, play with the kids, he comes home, we go to bed, and then hit REPEAT the next morning. Groundhog Day.

Now we do try to do find meaning and purpose in what we’re doing- we read and teach the kids, we read inspiring books, we write, we work on our business.

But the biggest noticeable difference between living here and living abroad? Excitement. Tim Ferris says in his book The Four Hour Work Week, “The opposite of happiness is not sadness. It’s boredom. A synonym for happiness should be excitement.”

Before we moved to Costa Rica, I never noticed this aspect was missing from my life. I was too busy- fixing meals, caring for the kids, cleaning up the perpetual messes, running errands, more meals, more clean up, only to get up the next day and do it again- an unending treadmill of sameness.

Of course I didn’t know this then. But having gone abroad and come back, excitement is the most noticeable thing missing. In Costa Rica, you woke up each day excited for the newness of it all. Everything was different, from the stunning sunrises to the lush green scenery, the food (and the maid who prepared it), the neighbors milking their cows, the “pulperias” and Hypermas and iguanas, monkeys, waterfalls, beaches, volcanoes and the breathtaking year-round blooming flowers.

Every weekend you would actually do something. You would get together with your friends and say “Let’s go see a waterfall,” or “Let’s go hike the volcano,” “Let’s go to the beach, the nature reserve, the zoo, Africa Mia” even “How about a BBQ” (oh, did I mention the weather was always perfect?) Life was exciting and fun! Your senses were stimulated and it caused reflection on life.

Don’t get me wrong, there was ’sameness’ in Costa Rica. You still lived- ate, worked, slept, got up and did it again. But even in the ’sameness’ there was some excitement, because, heck, you were doing it in Costa Rica.

Now my purpose in writing is not to offend, only to supply another view point and hopefully provoke thought. Why is it that Utah has the highest ratio of depression per capita, as well as drug abuse, even among mothers with children at home? (But it’s not just Utah- many people suffer from ‘boredom’- even Costa Ricans in Costa Rica).

Could it be a lack of excitement? Could it be the never-ending treadmill of sameness, day after same day, week after same week, year after long-drawn-out year? It may play a part. I can only speak for myself, but if I don’t get some excitement soon, I might just go crazy!

That doesn’t mean that life here sucks and we just all need to move to Costa Rica to find excitement and fulfillment in life. Excitement really comes from within- it is an attitude that can be developed by looking for the beauty, awe and splendor all around us. Fun can be found right here (or wherever we are), the question is, Do we find it?

When was the last time you felt really alive, that you were so filled with the thrill and adventure of life that you threw your arms up into the air and your head back and just took it all in?

If it was recently, kudos to you. You’re better than the majority. I know for me it’s been awhile. For me, that’s what’s missing- The Excitement Factor.

It’s time to get it back.

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