March 16, 2025

Why “Meh”? How to fight Boredom – mentally and physically.

Last week, a group of (adorable) young girls heard our music at Fred’s and started dancing along outside our door. After one of our friends waved them inside, they “Shook The Room” with their playful enthusiasm. It was the perfect reminder that mojoing is a GIFT, not a chore. Feeling “meh” about Mojo? According to neuroscience, our brains and body are programmed to tire of even our most exciting adventures. Read on to learn how to fight it to lead happier and healthier lives.

We’ve all been there…We finally get that new car, promotion or hear a song that lights up our soul like a firecracker. It’s amazing! After time, the feeling fades, and our subconscious brain shrugs and says, “Yeah, that was nice. What’s next?”

Why can’t we just be happy all the time? From a neuroscience perspective, the best answer to this question is because of “habituation” – an enlightening new term for me, and a new addition to my “Words With Friends” series, thanks to my fave science-based blogger, Eric Barker.

Here’s Eric:

Because of habituation, no matter how amazing something is, we will eventually end up taking it for granted. Even the greatest joys of life will fade with time.

Why does this happen? Brain cells just respond less and less to stimuli that repeat. If they didn’t, we’d constantly notice our clothes moving on our skin, and background noise would never fade into the background.

“Meh” is the ironic joke at the heart of the human condition: our capacity for adaptation (a key to our survival, which also ensures that we are forever chasing the next high on the treadmill of life.

We can try to outrun it — move to a different country every week, marry someone new every month– but habituation will always be two steps ahead, waiting at the next corner with a smirk on its face.

The answer? Fight it!

Since habituation can lead to us taking our lives, and those in our lives, for granted, here’s a breakdown of ways to combat this and cultivate a healthier, more engaged life:

Mindfulness & Gratefulness
Take time to consciously appreciate the good things in your life, even the seemingly mundane.
Practice being present in the moment. In Mojo, pay attention to the energy around you, the joy of music, the commaraderie of friends, the gift of what our body and brain can do together – without judgment. This helps us appreciate the small things that we might otherwise overlook.

Seek new experiences (outside of Netflix),
Vary your daily routine. Take a different route to work, try a new restaurant, or attempt a new skillset. Get off the Radnor Trail, and hike at Valley Forge for a change.

Engage in activities that stimulate your senses, such as listening to music, aromatherapy, or massage.

In a funk? Life lackluster? Mel has a little exercise for that as well…

Good news! You can make it better with action.
Whether the person is you or someone you care about, sit down and ask these questions:

1. Do you want to get out of the funk? This is critical because in order for real change to happen, we have to WANT to change.
2. Can you think of a time in your life when you felt GOOD about yourself and your life?
3. Did you have a routine at the time that you stuck to EVERY day?
4. What does your routine look like now?
5. Compare the two routines…Are they similar? (probably not)

THIS is a good way to start. We must start doing what we used to do when we were at a moment in time when we felt GOOD and HAPPY.

This post resonated with me…After 16 years of keeping a schedule, I gotta admit I get frustrated, and almost embarrassed, with the inordinate amount of time and energy I put into keeping our community sweating and shimmying. It’s certainly not about the money…Would I be happier if I had more time to lay low?

Last weekend, spending time with my children and precious grandchildren, I was reminded of how hard that era of life was and how thankful I am that I did it. But I am also more aware of how much more time I have, in comparison, to enjoy the adventures life has to offer. I don’t want to waste it!

Spending this time learning new things, sharing it with friends, sweating it OUT like college girls, and keeping my girlish health in check is a fantastic habit that I don’t take for granted.

Speaking of “meh”…Is your body bored?

Like our brains, our body gets bored, too!
In Mojo or whatever your exercise of choice, it’s common to go through the motions and get lost. Like spinning on the lowest cycling gear, you’re just flapping in the wind and not getting anything out of it.

Knowing the Purpose of your moves increases your Intensity
Every move we do is specifically designed to help you achieve a metabolism-building workout. If you are not achieving the results you would like, it’s likely you are going through the motions. Try focusing on the purpose of the movements. It’s up to you to ASK your muscles out to participate, and make sure your core is fully activated whenever possible.

Muscle Activation: Knowing if a move targets your core, legs, or arms allows you to consciously engage those muscles. This creates a deeper connection to the movement, maximizing muscle engagement and boosting overall intensity.

Increasing your Intensity Unlocks Power:

By focusing on purpose and form, you naturally crank up the intensity of your workout. Your heart rate climbs, you work harder, and you burn more calories – that’s the HIIT magic!

Intensity Unlocks Power: With a solid foundation of intensity, you can safely add power. This is when the magic happens, and when you can enjoy real results.

Reward your body and soul with a JOY-filled sweat sesh this week!