When was the last time you ended up in a place and a situation you had never experienced before? Yesterday? A while ago? Does it happen to you all the time? And how does that feel? Challenging? Uncomfortable? Exciting?
Well, with time your answer could change.
The answer “All the time” was mine for a long time because I love novelty, but little by little I also wanted things to become more familiar. I know that change is everywhere and what positive outcome this can bring, and that to quote Einstein: “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.
Yet the amount of energy you need to put into new things may lead you to make different choices and get into phases in life where you will choose the usual over the novel. So one day, I was asking myself the same question again: “When was the last time that I experienced something completely new?”. My answer surprised me as it was a while ago. I reflected about how it had changed and decided to be mindful about it. Now less than a year later, I am traveling the world with my family, taking a 6-month sabbatical and “All the time!” has become my answer again.
At the moment, I feel this is just right and am enjoying every moment of the discovery.
Of course, not everyone feels the same about change or novelty, or even has the same needs for experiencing them, however it is important to stay alert on this question and ask ourselves from time to time how our answer makes us feel.
