Most of my writing is done at home, surrounded by the comfort of familiarity and the subtle joy of solitude. However today I write from a nearby city, I’ve been here but 5 minutes and already I’m feeling a surge of new ideas.

Later on I’ll be meeting friends which gives me the next few hours to keep my mind on what I came here to accomplish. I was reading one of my old blog posts, about ways to stimulate creativity and I decided to take my own advice and explore a new environment and stimulate my mind. So I booked into a hotel and decided to turn a quick trip down the road to see friends into a weekend long getaway.

Sometimes, when I’m in the same place for too long my mind feels like it’s stuck in a cycle, the same idea will circulate round and round and the pace of progression gets slower and slower. Next thing I know I’m in the kitchen about to grab another snack, or down to the local cafe to grab my 3rd cup of coffee.

For the most part I manage to get things done, but when I evaluate I feel like I should have reached my objectives sooner. The moment I walked into my hotel room, I threw  my bag in the closet and immediately started to jot down notes. Notes about my book, ideas for new blog posts and miscellaneous items relating to my goals.

The excitement of exploring a new environment and being away from home has spurred on fresh thought. There are so many things that are unfamiliar around here, that my mind feels like it’s getting a workout and I’m feeling that nervous spirit that I had when I started my first blog post, which is good because I had missed that.

It’s like everything is new to me again, although my process for writing is the same and my goals are still the same, the challenge seems somewhat different. It’s odd; I’m also starting to feel more like myself the more time I spend here and it has nothing to do with where I am, but more so, where I am not.

On the other hand, I get to look at home objectively and it’s absolutely wonderful to know what I have. It’s making me appreciate what I have back home, knowing and understanding what I have to go back to and I’ve never felt more grateful…my motivation is triggered and I’m seizing this opportunity very naturally.

Being away from home truly allows me to be focused solely on my own aspirations. I don’t have to play the part of brother, uncle, home owner, mentor, friend or whatever many other roles I have to fulfill as part of my duties back home.

I encourage everyone to give it a go and stimulate your perhaps tired mind because everyone deserves their “me time.” This dog has been let off the leash and is free to explore; my identity has been fully restored and my vision is clear, I feel more focused and more at home than ever.