Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone!

Why it’s worth trying something new (Even if you’re terrible at it):

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut of doing the same things over and over. As adults, using our limited resources and free time to attempt something new may seem like a risk not worth taking. Sticking to the tried and true activities we’ve done before and know we enjoy is the safer bet and guarantees reliable satisfaction, but does it? Often, doing the same thing over and over with little to no change can have diminishing satisfaction. On the other hand, stepping into the unknown can boost excitement, spur on adventure and maybe increase satisfaction. Let us lead you down the road to why stepping out of your comfort zone can be worth all the risk!

1. If you never try something new you will never know what else you could be good at!! Avoiding something just because you FEAR you won’t be good at it is a reason in itself to do it. Fear can be paralyzing and the best lessons often come from failure or a lack of proficiency. As a great person once said, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Trying and potentially failing at something new in a recreational capacity where the consequences are low can help expand your breadth of experiences and increase your resilience. We can even build confidence in our failures by knowing what not to do next time. For some, mastery looks like it comes to them overnight, but it’s the perseverance in the skill development that builds the confidence.

2. Brain development with novel (new) activities can help increase neuroplasticity and improve cognitive function. The more varied the types of activities you do, the more varied the brain pathways you build. With more brain pathways comes increased potential resilience in the face of cognitive decline or other types of brain injuries. Basically, if you think of your brain pathways like roads, if the main road gets interrupted, having a greater number of side roads to choose from increases your likelihood of getting from point A to point B despite the interruption.

3. FOMO...darn kids these days, shorten everything to acronyms. If you have not figured this one out yet it stands for Fear Of Missing Out. When you stick to doing only what you already know you’re good at, you miss out on some serious opportunities for growth, learning and down right adventure. With any new activity comes the potential for a new community of people to share it with, a new set of skills, and a new potential avenue for joy and a sense of accomplishment. Writing something off without even trying it means you never give yourself a chance to enjoy it. So the next time someone suggests walking somewhere you haven’t walked before, playing pickleball, trying out a new coffee shop or taking a bus you have never taken before, say ‘YES’ first and don’t look back and just enjoy the ride!

Whether it’s taking up a new sport, crafting project, cooking skill, or academic endeavor, taking a chance on something can pay off in ways you have yet to uncover.