When Was The Last Time You Tried Something New

When Was The Last Time You Tried Something New

We are creatures of habit. Doing the same thing day in and day out makes us comfortable. Doing the known is much less scary than doing the unknown. A friend of mine, Mike Bemiss, wrote a preamble in my first book, "Never Buy A Hat IF Your Feet Are Cold - Taking Charge Of Your Career And Your Life," that stated: 

Beware The Known

It's not the UNKNOWN that we must fear. As children, everything was unknown. But, as we get older, we start to build walls around ourselves, at the limit of what we KNOW. We build the walls of our own jails, with fear of failing at doing something UNKNOWN.

Too soon, we build a castle of security around ourselves. It has no doors, and few windows...it's the KNOWN. We live and die in there, with only an occasional timid peek out of a high window, at the UNKNOWN.

We build the walls of our KNOWN so high, that we cannot escape - and our souls wither and die for the lack of new experiences.

I refuse to build that wall. Each stone I would use to build it, I'll use instead as a stepping stone into a new and different UNKNOWN. And when I die, as we all do eventually, my only regret will be that I never got to discover that next UNKNOWN just over the horizon.

I appreciate the KNOWN. But I refuse to be limited by it. It can be a trap - if you let it - and you will never experience the next UNKNOWN - and that is the most special UNKNOWN of all,

The Next One

WOW, doesn't that say a lot - thank you Mike. I grew up in a "KNOWN" family. The most new thing we did was go to Atlantic City every other year. When my parents went to eat Chinese food they would both order the same thing - Shrimps in Lobster Sauce. 

I would ask them why didn't they try something new and their answer was: "we KNOW Shrimps in Lobster Sauce is good and the many other things on the menu might not be as good. We like to stick with the KNOWN.

I do have my routine, but because of my fear of being like my parents, I have always pushed myself to try new things. They could be business things or personal things. Just one example was, I changed my computer programmer job and went into sales. That first year scared the crap out of me and I would get hives. However, I lived and did well in sales.

I truly believe my life has been enriched by trying new things. They don't always work out the way I had hoped, but at least I can avoid saying "I should have tried that out.

Sooo, look at your life. Enjoy the KNOWN, but ask yourself:

When Was The Last Time I Tried Something New