“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you do the better” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Nothing’s going to come to you if you’re just sitting around waiting for it. If you’re living groundhog days doing the same thing over and over again you’re not living.
You don’t have to have a bucket list to enjoy new experiences and broaden your horizons; even the ordinary can seem magical when viewed through a different lens. You don’t have to chase the big or costly things in life; simple things can still be new. I don’t like routine for too long, I get bored and start to disengage. It’s good to “stir the pot” and reach out for new experiences now and then.
I once set out to try something new every day for 30 days – not as easy as it may sound! The challenge takes initiative, creativity, and a willingness to look at everyday things more closely and from a different perspective.
They don’t have to be epic experiences…try a new food or choose a different route to work one day. In the end, it will be interesting to see what sticks…will I find a new hobby? new tastes? a love of opera that I never had before??
I started seeking out something new each day and it went pretty well! Even the mundane becomes fun when looked at differently. I was looking at how I drive to work everyday and I started to see a familiar pattern. I followed that pattern on Day 6 and you can see what happened:
- Day 1 – bet on the horses for the first time. I don’t think it will be a regular thing.
- Day 2 – saw the host of Eat Street do his comedy act in person and he’s very funny
- Day 3 – watched a man with no arms play the piano – extremely well!
- Day 4 – finally ate a banquet burger from JJ’s – I liked it but its a LOT of burger
- Day 5 – bought and cooked chayote.
*Had to look up what it was and how to eat it, but it turned out to be pretty good! I will eat it again - Day 6 – drove the 30 minute drive to work from one town to another using only RIGHT turns. I got there only nine minutes later and as it happens, I drive a big circle!
- Day 7 – tried chestnuts for the first time — probably the last time. Ewwwww
- Day 8 – tried making a new salad dressing – I call it Creamy Smokey Chipotle. Totally amazing, I will keep this one close
As you can see, even the simple things do take a bit of planning. It helps if you wake up in a discovery mindset and commit to something new each morning. Something as simple as trying new foods usually means a trip to the grocery store, unless you’re going to try something new at home. You’ve never had peanut butter and cheese? Maybe today’s your day!
Many people stay in their routine and never look up out of fear…fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of judgement or fear of failure. Some people never try anything new because they believe they are happy with the way things are and don’t feel there is a need to shake it up. But that’s how we learn and grow. Imagine if our children did the same thing!
Although I didn’t meet the challenge of making it to 30 new things over 30 days, I did pretty well and I’ve learned to embrace change even more than before. Some things to add to my list of firsts:
- took sailing lessons
- swam in the open ocean
- learned to crochet
- made a blanket
- started this blog
- learned to scuba dive
I have always loved to write but never published anything or even voiced strong opinions in social media. I needed to let go of any thoughts of judgement, as though anything I write has no value, and any fear of not being good enough and just do it. At the end of the day, the joy is in the doing, not in the outcomes. Whether I’m judged or not doesn’t change the experience of writing. It is something new, a change, and I am definitely growing from it. That’s all that counts to me.
“If you want something you‘ve never had, you must be willing to do something you‘ve never done.” – Thomas Jefferson
My Wandering Spirit 