At dinner in San Francisco with a dear friend, he mentioned an article about combatting depression that really struck me. It emphasized the importance of exercise in easing depression and how important it was to mix up your routine. For example, if you always go running, you should try tennis (or something your mind and body aren’t used to). My friend has applied this thinking to various aspects of his life, down to eating foods he hates. For instance, he loathes carrots and nuts but revealed proudly, smiling, “I now eat both regularly.” What’s amazing is that IT WORKS. I haven’t seen him this happy in years. Not one to ever go out dancing, now he does that until late into the night. He’s surprising himself by taking a break from himself.

Now I am in no way in a position to comment on clinical depression, but I wholeheartedly agree that varying up your routine is good for you. The times that I tend to get a mean case of the reds are when I’m not busy enough and have too much time to think (i.e. boredom quickly translates to feeling blue). Luckily I’ve been too busy to feel down lately, but I love this way of thinking and wonder if you’d like to embark on a little spring challenge with me: Take a break from yourself and do the opposite of your normal routine. I’ve apparently already started because I’m up before 11am (who am I?!).

I plan to apply this to my sartorial choices as well by wearing things I wouldn’t normally think to try (distressed denim is en route to my casa now). And why not? We know what we are like as-is (and I am truly blessed to say that I am happy with who that person is). But life is short, so why not venture outside of the box we put ourselves in and see what that’s like too, right? Who’s in? And how do you plan to surprise yourself?

[Photos via Valley of the Dolls spread in Harper’s Bazaar UK January 2012 by Tom Munro]