74 AWW.COM.AUAUGUST 2017
GETTY IMAGES. POSED FOR BY MODEL NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORY.Our busy, modern-day lifestyle has robbed us of the
joy of spontaneity.Melissa Fieldfinds out why
embracing the unplanned will feed your soul.
Seize
the day
C
an you recall the last time you did
something completely spontaneously?
For most of us, our days, weeks and
months are scheduled to the nth degree,
leaving little or no time to simply do
something – anything – just because.
“We’ve become addicted to busy-ness,” says
clinical psychologist Danielle Maloney. “Busy-
ness is almost directly attached to self-esteem. We
live in a society that implicitly values this type of
lifestyle and our self-worth has become contingent
on whether or not we meet expectations.”
The fact that hyper-organisation has become
our default setting has robbed us of the joy of
spontaneity.Carpe diemfeels like a luxury at
best, or an impossibility in reality. But for the
sake of our physical and emotional wellbeing, it’s
worth learning to reconnect with the impromptu.“As a society we don’t value novelty and
spontaneity but I’d argue that they’re core
emotional needs,” says wellbeing author and
mindfulness coach Alison Nancye. “Abiding
by ‘should’ all the time becomes increasingly
mundane and dull, whereas spontaneity –
whether it’s something life-changing or simply
something fun – feeds the soul.”
There are physical and emotional benefits to
spontaneity. “Being held hostage to ‘must’ can
lead to burnout and increased stress. It can even
lead to anxiety and depression,” says Danielle.
The statistics make for sobering reading. The
Australian Psychological Society’s most recent
Stress And Wellbeing survey (2015), found that
35 per cent of us report having “a significant level
of distress in our lives,” and 26 per cent report
having above normal anxiety and depression»