Why You Need To Try New Things + How To Create A ‘New Things’ Practice

Why should you try new things? Oh no reason. They just slow time (!!!), deepen your experiences, strengthen your friendships, and expand your comfort zone. Click through for tips on developing your own New Things practice! >> yesandyes.org

I was readjusting my pasties when my phone buzzed. It was my first ever burlesque show and I was hovering backstage, pulling on my gloves, gossiping with my classmates, and devotedly hoping that my husband was the only person I knew in the audience.

I looked down at that tiny glowing screen, expecting to see a note of encouragement from Kenny when I saw an unidentified number and the words “I think I’m sitting behind your husband? I’m at a burlesque show?”

This is what comes from trying new things, friends:

Embarrassment, blushing, fevered texting, a few tiny regrets. But more than any of that, trying new things has brought me deeper friendships, a richer life, a sense of accomplishment and capability, and one million stories like this one.

(Don’t worry! The text was from a long-time friend whose number I’d lost. She was there because her neighbor was also in the show. She was not scandalized by my costume or routine.)

As crazy as it sounds, that little list in my sidebar has done more for my life than, well, almost anything.

Trying new things enriches our lives. Here’s why: 

New things slow time (!!!)

“Nice try, Von Bargen. Going to a new restaurant isn’t going to bend the laws of time and space.” I know it sounds crazy but it’s scientifically proven: The way our brains perceive time is subjective and new experiences feel slower and deeper.

Think about your most recent trip to a new city. You wandered through different neighborhoods, gobbled food you’d never tasted, chatted with strangers, saw things you’d never seen. You probably squeezed a month’s worth of life out of those few days!

Contrast that with a normal workweek. Snooze button > coffee > commute > meeting after meeting > commute > Netflix > bed. And then we all throw up our hands and say “I can’t believe it’s September already!”

Routines speed time. Novelty slows it.

New things deepen your experience

New things force us to pay attention. I’ve ordered #23 at Trieu Chau so many times the waitresses express shock if I order anything else. I’ve driven the route between my house and my parents’ so frequently I could do it in a pizza roll coma. Because these things are routine, I barely notice what I’m doing. I’m half checked out when I take the 101 N exit.

When we’re trying new things, we’re forced to be present. I can’t zone out while slacklining for the first time. I’m probably not knee-deep in Instagram while perusing the menu at a new Mongolian restaurant. New experiences force us to be present in our lives in a way that routine doesn’t.

New things get you out of your comfort zone

Dudes, I will ride a habit till the wheels fall off. I’ve been buying the same jeans, wearing the same lipstick, shopping at the same grocery store, bringing the same food to parties for yearrrrrrs. No one loves a well-worn rut more than me. (Which is the very reason I started my New Things practice seven years ago.)

Shockingly enough, personal growth doesn’t happen in ruts. Like the Pinterest image says: Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.

New things build fresh pathways in your brain

Those ruts we’re in? They are – almost literally – muddy little trenches we’ve dug in our brains. Those repeated actions and patterns have actually formed pathways in our grey matter! We keep doing/eating/saying/thinking the same things because we’ve created an easy, clear path for our neurons.

It’s much, much easier to do something the 75th time than the first. When we try new things, we’re pulling our thoughts, energy, and literally our neurons out of ruts and building new pathways. Amazing, right?

To paraphrase Mr. Frost:
Two roads diverged in a brain, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Sharing new experiences deepens friendships

Which experience is more bonding: Grabbing a cup of coffee or going to a nude beach together? Will you connect more with your friends over a cocktail or playing nine holes of golf for the first time?

Sharing new experiences is vulnerable, hilarious, terrifying, and fun. It creates memories and opens up new parts of your personality. It might allow your friend to show off a skill set you didn’t know they had!

As a side note: if you write a New Things list and tell your friends about it, you might be amazed by how many of them are interested in helping you cross things off. It’s also a great excuse to hang out with that person you’ve been wanting to get to know better!

Another sidenote: 15 ways to catch up with friends that aren’t grabbing a cocktail or a coffee

Trying new things can clarify your fears and hangups

Doesn’t sound like an awesome benefit? Hear me out. There are a few items that have been on my New Things list for years – each year they go untried; each year they get rolled over. Clearly something is up.

Why do I keep saying I want to go car-less for a week … and then failing to do it? Why, after three years of saying I want to, have I failed to drive a jet ski? WHY DON’T YOU TAKE A BALLET CLASS SARAH YOU KNOW YOU WOULD LOVE IT.

Noticing what I’m resisting is interesting and important. It highlights challenges and weaknesses I might otherwise miss.

Trying new things helps you discover new strengths

Did you guys know that I’m, uh, kind of a natural at burlesque? And that I can hold my own in the batting cage? It’s true! I would never, ever have known this about myself if I hadn’t tried these new things.

I probably don’t have a future in major league baseball or fancy dancing, but it feels great to walk around with these secret talents tucked up my sleeve!

Trying new things reminds you of old, beloved things

Many of us grew up with hobbies and interests we abandoned in adulthood. We weren’t good enough to go pro, we couldn’t find a way to monetize it, or maybe it just seemed silly to be 32 and still really into tap dancing. (But that’s a bad example because tap dancing will always be amazing.)

Trying new things can open that door and help you remember what you used to love. If you were a serious theater kid, what if your New Thing was Toastmasters? If you loved ballet, you try aerial yoga!

new-things-3

So how does one go about making a New Things list?

Well, you make a list of things you’ve never done, right? Yes! Obviously. That being said, it can be surprisingly hard! You don’t know what you don’t know, right?!

After making New Things lists for seven years, here are a few tips that might help.

Ask your friends for help + suggestions

This serves three purposes. One: Your friends will help you brainstorm all sorts of good ideas you never would have thought of. Two: It forces you to make your process public – which will hold you accountable and make you more likely to actually do those things. Three: It gives your friends an opportunity to suggest things they’ve been wanting to try and now you can do them together!

Make your list at the same time each year

I like to make my lists every year on my birthday. It’s a nice tradition and it gets me excited about the coming year. Maybe you’d like to do it on New Year’s Day, the first day of school or July 2nd – the exact midpoint of the year.

Put fewer things on your list rather than more

Yes, it feels really good to make a list of 100 things. It feels clever to make a list with the same number of items as your age. But in my experience, it’s prettttty hard to do more than 20 new things in a year. In all my years of doing this, I’ve never been able to complete an entire list in one year.

When in doubt, make your list shorter and more doable. If you cross everything off within three months – awesome! Just add more!

Choose things you can do in one day

Your New Things list is not your bucket list. Sure, we all want to run a marathon,* but that requires months of training. Walking along the great wall of China might technically be a New Thing, it would probably take months (or years!) of saving and planning.

Our New Things should be relatively easy and accessible. They should add awesome to our everyday lives. Once-in-a-lifetime experiences are lovely and important, but doable New Things are, too.

* jkjklol

Try things that aren’t prohibitively expensive

It’ll be a lot easier to cross things off your list when they’re not making you broke. Of course, everyone’s budget is different, but I try to keep my New Things under $50.

Choose a few ‘boring’ things

Somehow, I made it to 36 without ever seeing The Sandlot. I also reached adulthood without reading Lolita, getting a manicure, or eating Ethiopian food. None of these are life-changers but millions of people love them. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about!

When you’re making your list, don’t forget the mundane things everyone else seems to know about. Give them a try and see if you like ’em!

Diversify your New Things

The first time I drafted a New Things list it consisted exclusively of books, movies, and food. This tells you something about my inner workings.

Your New Things won’t challenge you if you limit yourself to one breed of experience. If you’re a gym bunny, resist the urge to fill your list with physical challenges. If you’re homebody, make sure your list includes things other than new recipes and new types of home improvements.

I like to break my New Things list into five categories:
Books + movies
Acts of physical prowess
Food
Personal challenges
Totally mundane things everyone else has done

It seems crazy that a little list in the sidebar of my blog could have such a huge impact on my life, but it’s true.

I’d love to hear from you! Have you ever made a New Things list? What’s on it? If you’re comfortable sharing, we’d love to see it – other people’s lists are so inspiring!

P.S. From now on, I’ll be sharing most of my New Things on Instagram rather than in blog post form. It’s hard to work up 500 words on ‘The Sandlot.’ 😉

photo by geran de klerk // cc

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23 Comments

  1. Jacqueline Fisch

    How fun! Storm chasing scares me more than anything else on your list! Yikes!

    Be safe!

    • Sarah Von Bargen

      My husband’s a meteorologist/climatologist and a super experienced storm chaser so I’m in good hands! 😉

  2. Anna

    I love this list Sarah! And so true about “new things slow time.” I remember my first semester of college (and to an extent my first year) felt so much longer than the others since it was so full of new experiences.

  3. Ali

    Sort of similar, but probably falls outside of your criteria of “can do in a day” and no more than 20 items in a year” but I’m trying to eat at one restaurant in Berlin (where I live) for each country in the world, of course skipping any countries that are not represented here by a restaurant. I originally said I wanted to try 3 a month, but so far I’ve only gotten 10 in about 8 months. But it’s fun, and it’s getting me and my husband out of our restaurant rut a little!

  4. Margaret

    This is unrelated but my computer screen is showing that your grey list of places you’ve written/been featured is right between the title and the picture of the article and thus also goes right over your face. Hello Giggles is covering up your right side basically.

    It didn’t look intentional so I just wanted to let you know

  5. Anonymous

    Thank you so much for sharing such a great idea !!! I really needed to see this.
    Hope it helps me in my ever changing life.

  6. Katie

    I’m in crested butte for the first time, and in a big girl solo hotel for gabe’s little brother’s wedding, so a reminder to try new things when I’m tired from the longest day of traveling ever is much needed!

    • Sarah Von Bargen

      Ha! Small world! Tell the Martins hello from me!

  7. Carly

    I love your new things list Sarah! Always really inspiring 🙂

    I created a ’28 things to do before I’m 28 list’ over here – http://betterwithapenblog.com/28-accomplish-before-bucket-list/

    It’s got everything from watching more Wes Anderson films, to buying better underwear and saying no to horrible social obligations. But now I’m half way through the year I agree that keeping the list 15 tasks or less would probably be much more do-able. Good luck with yours!

    • Sarah Von Bargen

      Love your list, Carly!

  8. Paula, The Geeky Shopaholic

    I love this idea! Though I think I might start with 10 – that seems more doable!

  9. Kaleena's Kaleidoscope

    This is such a great idea, I’m inspired to make my own! I’ve just returned from 18 months of round-the-world traveling and getting back into routine desk life has been a tough adjustment. A list like this would definitely spice things up and keep me feeling like I’m still exploring! Also, aerial yoga is so awesome, and then you should upgrade to trying aerial dance. You will get crazy strong!

    • Sarah Von Bargen

      Yes! As someone who spent yearrrrs living out of a backpack, this kind of practice can really help you re-acclimate to ‘normal life’ 😉

  10. DLee

    I remember reading about your list when you started it seven years ago. I also started making lists and crossing things off about seven years ago too. Your approach seemed genius! This year my list included learning to swim, and as a present for learning, I swam with whale sharks in the summer..in the ocean! I volunteered at the botanical garden in my town, and I switched from going to the gym to going to dance lessons for exercise. Sometimes the effort in these feats makes me what to cry and never leave the house again, but after its accomplished, it makes me feel more alive.

    • Sarah Von Bargen

      Wow! I’ve always wanted to swim with whale sharks – how was it?!

  11. Rachael

    I have ALWAYS wanted to give burlesque a try. I really need to get on that and you doing it is a sign I just need to take the plunge! Traveling was a big one for me – first with a friend I’d only known online AND it was our first excursion outside of the USA – now we’re best friends, 13 years later! great article as usual, Sarah! xo

    • Sarah Von Bargen

      It’s so, so fun! You’ll love it!

  12. Shannon

    One thing that I’ve found as a parent is that everything – even things you’ve done a million times before – feels new with kids. That’s both good and bad – sometimes you wish you could just relax and do things on autopilot! But it also offers a new perspective on things that you thought you knew, from hiking to going to restaurants. It’s absolutely one of my favorite things about being a mom.

    • Sarah Von Bargen

      That’s so sweet! It’s always amazing to me the things my stepsons enjoy/find fascinating – just today they were THRILLED to dig up a mound of potatoes in the garden!

  13. Blog Reader

    I am not an avid commenter but I had to make a point of commenting on this post.

    It was brilliantly written and for the first time in a long time gave new information that wasn’t just common sense put down in words.

    Thanks for an insightful look at life and trying new things. 🙂

  14. Jenny/Adventures Along the Way

    I just discovered your blog through another one, and I like your list idea. Two years ago I started adult ballet and love it. 🙂 Last year I started taking two classes a week, I loved it so much, and this year, I’m doing the same. And, randomly enough, I made potetlefse for the first time earlier this year. I’d been wanting to try it for YEARS and never had. So easy and delicious. I used the recipe in The Nordic Coodbook by Magnus Nilsson, which is an amazing resource for Nordic cuisine… Let me know if you’d like the recipe. And I’m carless because two years ago my 21-year-old car needed more work than it was worth, but thankfully I live within walking distance of work, and so I just decided to give it a try. I’m a member of a car sharing service, but some months I don’t use it. I’ll have to think about my own list. I sorta do this for New Year’s but new things get mixed in with random goals, so I will try to separate them out next time. Mine will certainly be less physically adventurous though! Thanks for sharing this idea, and I look forward to exploring your blog more!

  15. Jamie

    This is such a fun idea! I might have to try this is the new year!

  16. Anonymous

    I just found this article after researching why I’m feeling what I’m feeling after trying surfing for the first time yesterday (and I WAS A FREAKING NATURAL…my teacher was like WTF?)

    BEAUTIFUL WORDS THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

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