When was the last time you tried something new? Some people are super adventurous and will give anything a go without a second thought, others will need to spend time researching the pros and cons and deliberating first, and then there is everyone else in between.
Whether it is trying new food, new places, a different type of exercise or something new with your horse I wonder whether we should all try something new more often.
When you get a take away – how many of you nearly always choose the same thing? We have a few favourites which we rotate between, but actually there are a lot of things on the Chinese menu in particular and we have no idea what some of them even are! This week we had a brave moment and tried something new and it was actually delicious.
Do you always do the same thing with your horse? Maybe you could try bonding with them using ground work, give a Working Equitation clinic a go, head off hacking in a new area, try showcross or online competitions – no one says that you have to do the same thing all the time, or the same as everyone else.
One of the most fun things I have done on horseback was archery – so much fun and bizarrely I wasn’t nervous about riding a strange horse at all – I just wanted to hit a target.
Timing
Life is busy, quite often crazy and the thought of risking valuable time (and money) on something you might not enjoy can be enough of a reason to stick with the norm.
Having a build up of resilience is also helpful – if you are not in a good place with other parts of your life, trying something new can feel too much, the risk of failure or lack of enjoyment, not being as good at it as you think you should be etc, can all be off putting.
Some things are not going to be for you – and some things, you might have done and enjoyed previously but things have changed and now, they are the last thing you could want to do.
A few (more than I would like to say) years ago Liz D and I went to a Go Ape in Scotland – it was soooo much fun. There were a few digging deep moments jumping from trees to cargo nets, but the zip lines made up for them in bucket loads and we left grinning having made memories that will last a lifetime.
Last year I headed to another Go Ape with another friend – and it was a disaster. She was a bit nervous to say the least, and not helped by a lady who was stuck on a zip line, absolutely terrified and screaming ‘Get me down’ – which was not exactly great for building confidence.
I set off – thinking that my friend was following – nope it was all too much, and she had to find another route down. I had to continue on my own, with my brain telling me that I was going to die, despite the very sturdy clips and harness holding me up. Clearly, I am not still stuck in a tree, and I did make it down after a severe talking to myself and a bit of bum shuffling, but did I enjoy it? Not really!
We did manage to carry on and complete one of the lower challenges together and then headed off for tea and cake agreeing to ‘Not try that again’. But it has given us something to laugh about now, and we still had a great day out together.
Had I been with Liz, or someone else filled with confidence (or blagging confidence), would I have enjoyed it more? Quite probably – it highlighted that finding things to do with the right support crew is important, but also that it doesn’t need to be something that you want to repeat in order to still have fun.
In our youth Liz and I tried many things – being towed behind a speedboat in rubber rings in the North Sea, windsurfing, paddle boarding, a ridiculous freezing 10km in the snow, and climbing among other silly challenges like riding 100km on a mountain bike through Glasgow at night.
It all sounds as though I might be in the adventurous, try anything camp, but actually I am a bit more of a planner – I have questions, ‘Where are we going? How long will it take? Will there be snacks? Am I going to be able to walk afterwards?
And what now?
In recent years, life and busyness have definitely taken over and although I have completed a few challenges that I am proud of, there have definitely been a lot of missed opportunities too. Listening to Dr. Andy’s podcast a few weeks ago, reading his book and now reading his kids book to Chloe, it has inspired me to try harder to be a 2percenter and make the most of the time I have left on earth.
I am trying to embrace a positive lifestyle and make things happen. Currently due to a leg that doesn’t want to behave, I am being told by several people that running might not be an option. Although I am wallowing a little in this news (and hoping they are all wrong) I am trying very hard to come up with new challenges, and exercise ideas. Wild swimming, paddleboarding and canoeing are on the agenda for the next few weeks.
So here is your challenge – try something new this week… a new dish or a new adventure. Buy a friend an experience you can do together. You won’t enjoy them all but the rubbish ones make the good ones even better.
Experiences enrich our lives so go and find them.
Lou x
