The thrill of trying something new
and the practice of curiosity
Jerry Seinfeld once said, “ I like to explore things, I don’t expect to enjoy them. But I am curious about what is working for other people.”
I laughed when I heard this for the first time. It’s oddly optimistic and cynical, and I can definitely relate to this sentiment. For me, trying new things is about curiosity. Whether I end up liking it or not, or whether I’m good at it or not, is irrelevant. As long as I’m trying something new every once in a while, I know I’m curious and alive (unless I would be a cat, of course). There’s no particular outcome I would wish from it, other than a desire to know what it would feel like to be in that new experience, and perhaps learn a skill or something about myself in the process.
The biggest roadblock to trying something new is fear. And the biggest thrill to trying something new is facing that fear. One of the things I’ve always been afraid of is getting hurt, physically, which is why I was always afraid of outdoor sports and activities. But it was also a fear of the unknown.
I didn’t grow up with a lot of that around me. Living in Cairo provided me with the limited possibility of riding my bike around a sad excuse for a garden and playing hopscotch on the broken sidewalk in front of my building. I was oblivious and happy in my city childhood, far from the hikers, and campers, skiers, and snowboarders, and surfers, and kite surfers, and skateboarders, and you get the gist. Nobody did any of that stuff around me. And then I moved to the US and discovered snowboarding and became so good at it, I went pro. Just kidding.
But in all seriousness, surfing was the one outdoorsy sport that I had always wanted to try. “In another life, I would surf,” I would say to myself. I thought it wasn’t for me, that I wouldn’t be good, that I wouldn’t look good, that I wasn’t enough of a ‘surfer type’ (whatever that means). And finally I got to the point where I felt stupid for not trying, but mostly I felt like giving myself the chance to do what I wanted despite the fear. I had also been following Michelle Poler’s 100 days without fear movement and felt inspired to get out of my comfort zone.
So I booked a surfing class on a trip to Portugal (my first solo trip), determined to give it a go. The waves were rough; I tried my hardest, and only managed to get half up. But it was thrilling, and exhausting. I remember as we all walked back up to the van from the beach, me and one other girl struggled to carry our heavy surfboards and kept having to stop and start. I felt embarrassed that I was so weak at that moment, but it was only because I’d given my first try at surfing every last bit of strength I had. And I was proud of myself. I had done something I thought I would never have had the courage to do.
Since then, I’ve tried dance class, bouldering, rollerblading, you name it. I haven’t picked up any of these as habits or hobbies, which used to frustrate me as I tried to understand why I couldn’t stick with one for a longer period of time. But I realized that’s not what really matters to me. I’d rather keep up the most important habit, which is to practice curiosity, continue to explore, experience the world in new ways, and not let my fears get in the way of that. And besides, what’s the best that could happen? I might actually enjoy it!
p.s. I still don’t think I’ll ever bungee jump, just saying.
Priscilla xo