Hi Friend,
When was the last time you had a little flutter of butterflies before something? That feeling can be excitement or nerves — either way, it’s your body knowing it’s about to experience something.
Maybe a first date, a new fitness class, a ticketed event, putting yourself out there in writing, starting a TikTok account, your first public speaking gig. Anything new to your system can be daunting and overwhelming — but on the flip side it can be life-changing, and give you such a sense of accomplishment.
Day-to-day routines are good, but they don’t offer different stimulus. It’s like training the same program for years: you adapt, and progress halts.
5 benefits of trying something new
1. Make time memorable. Whatever the outcome, trying something new changes your state of mind. It could be a great experience, or a complete flop you never want to repeat. Either way, it’s a story that helps you discover a little more of who you are. Time is precious — go create some memories.
2. Conquer fear. Before you say it — yes, I’m scared of plenty (sea water, the dark, travelling alone, public speaking, meeting new people). All valid. But conquered in small, bite-size chunks, it feels amazing. Those butterflies are nerves and excitement; you choose which one you feel. The more you put yourself in these positions, the easier it gets.
3. Uncover who you truly are. Do you really know what you’re passionate about? Or are you following routines you’ve done for years? Trying new things helps you find what lights you up — and what doesn’t resonate. Either way, you get a closer look at you.
4. Create experiences with others. New things often mean branching out of your social circle. For me, meeting a whole new group is terrifying — I’ll spend weeks wondering what to wear and rehearsing conversations. But travelling solo to Thailand in 2019 for a week-long mentorship, surrounded by like-minded humans, within 24 hours I felt like I was chilling at home with friends. Forty people from across the globe; I’d met six of them before. To this day it’s one of the best experiences of my life, and I still have strong friendships from it. So many of my connections now are movement-based — the Animal Flow community, the Jungle Brothers tribe, bootcamps I’ve coached.
5. Encourage creativity. Every time we expose our system to something new, we increase our creative capacity. Something different forces your brain to understand and adapt to a unique set of circumstances, and develop a new set of skills. Even changing your travel route takes you out of auto-pilot.
I’ll leave you with Winnie the Pooh: “We didn’t realise we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.”
Go forth — I’d love to know what new thing you tried this week.
Stay Sassy, Nikki