Thinking Like a Tourist

For the majority of the year it's dark when I am driving to work. Yesterday morning, as I was coming down 71 South, I glanced over and was struck by how pretty the skyline of downtown Columbus looked with the tall buildings lit up against the black sky.

I've been driving this route for over thirteen years, and the routine of it makes me pass by this scene without even a glance most days. 

As I continued on to work, I started thinking about how I love visiting other cities, as well as the phenomenon of how other cities often seem so much cooler than my own. When I'm in another city I'll find myself thinking about what it would be like to live there, imagining that I would probably feel much more cultured or sophisticated walking around those streets. 

The truth is that once things become familiar, it's easy to become complacent about them. I once read about the concept of "hedonic adaptation," which explains how we humans naturally adjust to positive stimuli over time, which makes our initial excitement diminish.

I thought that if I could make myself look at my surroundings as if I were a tourist, I might be able to recapture some enthusiasm for the city I have called home for over two decades. 

So, on my way home that day, I looked at landmarks on my commute with fresh eyes: the impressiveness of downtown as I approached westbound on 70, the detail and history packed into the murals at the entrance to Clintonville, the stately homes on North Broadway. 

This trick of perspective worked! My commute felt less like a slog, and much more delightful that day as I remembered that Columbus, Ohio is a cool place to live, I just have to remember to notice it every once in a while.