Audience Question : What do you do if, like, your life feels really boring? Like still, or stuck, or just, I dunno, like, yeah…
Interviewer : Mhh, good question, thankyou-
Audience Question : or like static- sorry- like television static. Just kind of still.
Interviewer : ahh, yes, interesting, very good question, thank you. Any takers?
James Potter : Yeah, yeah, yeah, me please, I really like this question - anyone mind if I take it?
(The panel doesn't mind)
James Potter : Okay, thankyouuu, yes, great question. I really, really like this, thankyou, because it's something that very much resonates, and I hope I'll be able to help, because, umm, okay, where to start…
My life- is just very up and down. I get very giddy, I get very, woah, spacy and over the top, and then I also get the flip side of that, the, like you said, the static. The sort of stagnant ick that just feels sticky, it feels horrible, so finding ways to get out of that ick has been a big part of my life - and still is, really - I'm still looking for and trying to find new ways to get out of it all.
But the thing that's worked best for me, i've found, is… change, Which is a scary word, it's really stressful, sometimes, and actually really hard and horrible for a lot of people.
As a kid I used to really really hate change, it’d get me really freaked out, but moving to a boarding school kind of changed the metre for it a bit, although I don't recommend going that extreme if you don't like change, a lot of trauma comes with it, but building up a tolerance really, really helps, I promise.
And it's scary and it’s hard, because it is, its draining, and it does use a lot of energy, so reward yourself for it, have a sleep, have some chocolate, pat yourself on the back after doing it, but change, for me, really does help that sort of fuzzy feeling.
Small changes to start off with, especially if you find them hard, but changes don't have to be scary and they don't have to be permanent.
Changes that I often make in my life, that I think most of the people here on this panel probably don't appreciate, is getting weird shit from the supermarket.
(A hum of agreement from the panel)
James Potter : Yeah, yeah, shut up, you love it.
Mary Macdonald : We love you, James, your cooking less so much.
(Potter reaches for his water like he is about to throw it at Macdonald, but stops and laughs, taking a swig instead. Macdonald grins, unapologetic.)
James Potter : Yeah, okay, but moving on from that, easy things to get areeee, likeee… pasta.
Pasta’s great. You’re getting pasta, and it's just your boring penne pasta or fusilli- what you gotta do is make it fun. Go for the shells, go for the bows. The weird, disproportionate ones, either massive, or tiny- it's more expensive, but my favourites are the character ones.
Lily Evans : No, no, no, you’re not allowed those ones anymore, remember?
(to the audience)
Lily Evans : Too many times have I found this man crying of guilt over eating his little pasta elephants or Peppa Pigs- honest to god crying.
Regulus Black : We had to wash the food once, fish out the animals and line them up like kid's toys.
Lily Evans : There are still some on the window sill-
Regulus Black : They’re everywhere.
James Potter : Okay, well, fine, as soon as you name your pasta, you're in trouble, I admit, but as long as you don't personify your food, you're good. No more moral dilemmas.
But okay, just different pasta, have fun with it. Same with biscuits, or chocolates.
If you have a pudding budget, have a look at different things, different sweets you’ve never tried, or the weird, exciting mousse-y chocolate yoghourts in the big fancy fridges. Chocolate milk, weird ice creams, different fruits, discounted pastries - so many options.
Lily evans : Sometimes too many options- please do remember to just get some normal, boring food along with your exciting things, as Turkish delight and tagliatelle isn't really breakfast material, but I do like the sentiment. James just sometimes gets extreme.
James Potter : Yeah, yeah, yeah, shuddup.
Anyway, another thing is routines. If you always watch telly of an evening, maybe while double screening, or doing admin, or crafts of some kind, maybe sometimes just swap out the telly for some music on in the background, just a change of atmosphere.
Or even, I mean, I'm bad at not having anything on at all, but some people do benefit from just some quiet time, nothing on in the background- or sometimes we-
(referring to his partners Regulus Black, Pandora Rosier and Lily Evans)
James Potter : -just put on those virtual fire videos, and have the crackling going on-
Lily Evans : and then you get marshmallows out and complain that they aren't toasting-
(General laughter)
James Potter : Right, no more out of all of you, there is a time and a place-
(More laughter)
James Potter : Anyway, yeah, just changing what you're feeding to your brain.
You can do the same with music as well. Not that I want to discourage any of you from listening to our music on repeat, but sometimes when you're only listening to the same things over and over again, you stop getting as much out of it.
Of course, keep listening to the shit you like, always. Enjoy the things you enjoy, and never feel like you should be doing anything else, but if you’re not enjoying it, and you're feeling bored, finding new music can be really, really good. It helps me alot.
Finding a playlist of a new genre on spotify, like… I dunno, jazz, or heavy metal, or scottish folk - you wont like all of it, some of it you’ll hate, but by finding new things, you will find something you enjoy - you’ll find an artist, or a sub genre, and that spiral of healthy obsession as you discover this new thing to batter into your brain, can often give a brilliant little dose of dopamine, and get you out of that slump.
If you have more time, and you’re okay with new things (it doesn't make you too stressed or too scared), what I try to do, to push myself, is go to a new place about once a week. And I don't mean get on a plane and fly to France of a Tuesday, or even drive to a new city or little village, or anything, but new things, new input, that's what helps, or that's what helps me.
Interviewer : Like what?
James Potter : Well, just like… new shops - if you always get coffee in a morning, try a different coffee shop. It might not be good, it might not be better, and that's fine, you can go to your old place the next day, it's okay, but trying that new thing, seeing those new faces, the new building, it's all new stuff. New stuff to fill your head with, and it's also an accomplishment, a kind of adventure- oh my god, thats what all of it is. Make yourself adventures. Little domestic adventures, but do it.
If you have a dog, walk it in a different park, or even a different bit of the park you usually go to. If you eat out when you're at work, it's the same, try a different place, widen your food options, and then feel all smug and superior cause you know you have the best lunch - you’ve checked.
Go a different way to work, get a bus or a tram or something different, just for a day, see how it feels. If you're going shopping, go to different shops, or a different pocket of town, a different high street, or even a different shop of the chain you're going to. The other morrisons, wooohhhh!
(Potter wiggles his fingers like the shop is a ghost.)
James Potter : But yes, I've rambled on a bit, but change. New things, new sounds, new ideas, new adventures. Make the boring exciting, and be proud of yourself when you do things, because you're trying. You're doing good!
(Potter smiles at the questioner and puts down his microphone, question answered.)
Interviewer : Well, thankyou there, James, I, myself, am definitely gonna use your advice on my own, that was brilliant! Very good. Okay, any questions!