Reflections On My Challenge To “do New Things” In January

This past fall, I had the pleasure of reading a book entitled: Do the Next New Thing: Embrace Uncertainty and Discover Purpose, Happiness, and Friendship written by Pamela Lamp. The book made an impression on me and prompted me to challenge interested women in my Life Balance After 50 community to do something new each day in the month of January.

The new thing did not need to be huge. It just needed to be new.

As I spoke with participants throughout the month and reflected on my own experiences with the challenge, I had a few takeaways that I wanted to share.

Doing New Things Is a Keystone Habit

A keystone habit is one which has a domino effect on other aspects of our day and our lives. An exercise routine is an example of a keystone habit. When we have a consistent exercise routine, we tend to feel better throughout the day, eat better, and get more done overall.

The habit of doing new things also has a domino effect. We feel good about ourselves. We are creating the habit of pushing through our anxiety and our negative core beliefs and trying something new or doing something differently. By doing this regularly, it becomes easier and less intimidating.

And by doing this regularly, everything becomes easier and less intimidating. Spread across all areas of our lives.

We Are Often Very Hard on Ourselves to Our Detriment

I heard from several participants along the way who became frustrated with themselves to the point of throwing in the towel when they missed a day or two or three along the way. This “all or nothing” thinking can be a mindset block for many of us. If we don’t do something one day, we just give it up entirely. This practice can affect our self-esteem and continue to increase our feelings of being a “failure.”

This is especially true for those of us who are perfectionists – a very common theme among women in our age bracket.

As is the case with many of our core beliefs, we’ve carried them around for so long that we can’t just wish them away. However, being aware of them and recognizing what is happening can help each of us to pick ourselves up and continue on with what we are trying to achieve because we know that it’s our thoughts that are holding us back and nothing more.

We can also learn to give ourselves grace and encouragement along the way – just as we would to our best friends.

Being Present in the New Thing Is a VERY Important Component

This is so important not just with the “new thing” challenge but with everything that we do in our lives and throughout our day. There were days during the challenge where I was trying to think of something new to do that day just to be able to write it in my tracker and check it off for the day. It was not necessarily something enjoyable nor was I present. I just wanted to get it done and cross it off my list.

We are at a point in our lives where doing something without being fully present for it is simply a waste of our precious time.

On one of the days, I decided I was going to bake cookies. This was not a brand new thing for me, but I have not spent a Sunday baking cookies in years, so it counted, as far as I was concerned.

I was FULLY present for this new thing. It was a cold wintry Sunday, and I had a fire going. I mixed up the batter and got the first batch into the oven. My husband came in and unwrapped the chocolate kisses that went onto the cookies and we had a fun moment. I loved the way the kitchen smelled, and I had a moment of gratitude when they came out of the oven and I realized I hadn’t lost my touch.

That Sunday, I felt accomplished. I had done my new thing and was fully engaged and present for it.

That’s what it’s all about. We need to challenge ourselves to continuously be trying new things – even if we’re scared to. It doesn’t need to be every day. Nor do the new things need to be huge. We just need to keep doing them.

And, we need to be present for them.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Are you open to trying new things? When was the last time you tried something new? What was it? What was the experience like? Have you done a month-long challenge of doing new things?