10 Ways To Experiment With Life

“Everybody’s a mad scientist, and life is their lab.”

David Cronenberg

What if you woke up tomorrow and decided that you were going to experiment with life?

What if you had a blank slate and could try anything that caught your fancy?

What if a different way of eating gave you more energy? What if decluttering had a positive impact on your relationships? What if silence is the best thing for your mind?

There are an infinite number of ways to playfully explore and support yourself in a healthier and happier direction.

So if you’ve been stuck in a rut lately, what do you have to lose? Why not shake things up a bit? Why not take a break from the familiar and step into the unknown?

Here are ten ways you can begin experimenting with your life today:

1. Learn something new

Developing the ability to learn new things in a fast-changing world will make you indispensable in almost any environment.

And with the explosion of things to learn and ways to affordably (or even freely) access knowledge, you’ll have no shortage of opportunities to explore topics that interest you.

You can learn to code, play an instrument, speak a new language, or try a new sport. Developing your ability to learn will hone your problem-solving skills and build your creativity muscles, basic skills that will prove useful in your everyday life.

2. Ask a friend to try something new with you

Running experiments with your life doesn’t have to be a solitary endeavor. If you’re struggling to get over your inertia, inviting a friend to try something new with you can be a great motivator.

One creative way to do this is by swapping interests with a friend. For instance, if you enjoy running but your friend likes to swim, it might be beneficial to join them for the occasional swim and vice versa.

Simultaneously trying a new activity with someone you enjoy being with can help you get out of a rut and deepen the bonds of friendship.

3. Try a different look

There are many different ways you can experiment with how you look.

If you’ve had the same barber or hairstylist for years, try going to someone different. Change your hair color. Grow or shave your beard.

Try on a different color of make-up, or try going without any.

Try wearing a hat if you’re not used to wearing one, or a pair of smart glasses, or a simple but elegant watch.

Or you can even try experimenting with period clothing.

Making a simple change to how you look can make you feel like a whole new person. Experiment with them and see how you feel.

4. Try new foods

Some people are hesitant to try new foods, but it’s a great opportunity to expand your horizons and expand your worldview.

If you never try, you will never know what you like. You may find that new foods are not as scary as you first thought.

Next time you go out to eat, challenge yourself by ordering something you have never eaten before. It’s a great way to explore and experience new cultures.

5. Write down your dreams every night for a week

Our waking minds may crave safety, but our subconscious minds may be craving adventure.

And our subconscious minds may be desperately communicating a desire to try something new through dreams.

If you’re ready for something new but not sure which direction to take, try keeping a recording of your dreams every night for a week.

Then take time to think about the dreams that you’ve written down. If there’s any one of them that you’re especially curious about, then it may be worth taking the time to do more research on how you can make it happen.

6. Help someone

One of the most effective ways to find inspiration is by helping a stranger or acquaintance.

Do something that they need help with and see how it feels. It can be as simple as providing a listening ear to your next-door neighbor who needs to vent or helping a stranded motorist on the side of the road.

Whenever you’re feeling stuck, referring to these past interactions might be helpful. They may help you more easily put yourself in the shoes of someone else and think of how they might go about solving their problem.

This will help you get out of your head so you can come up with creative solutions.

7. Question your beliefs

Have you ever noticed how much energy we put into trying to change other people? We want them to see what we see, feel what we feel, and believe what we believe.

But what if instead, you took a good hard look at your own beliefs? What if you investigated whether they’re serving you? If not, why are you holding on to them?

These may be hard questions to sit with, but just the act of questioning your beliefs can open up new possibilities and lead to unexpected insights.

8. See opportunities in adversity

When we think of adversity, we often see it as a negative thing, but sometimes we can use it to our advantage.

We can do this by using the unwelcome disruption to our lives as an opportunity to consider new practices, routines, or habits that will improve our ability to cope with our present circumstances and eventually overcome them.

Rather than feeling like we’re victims to the circumstances, we can take the time to explore what we could do differently to make our lives more fulfilling.

9. Develop a beginner’s mindset

A person with a beginner‘s mindset is not easily burdened by mistakes or failures.

They know that the only way to get better at anything is through a lot of practice. They know that mistakes and failures are just part of the process. Rather than inducing shame, it’s just something to learn from.

To develop a beginner’s mindset, you need to challenge your assumptions and seek out new perspectives.

Experiment, fail, learn from the experience, and then improve.

10. Don’t be afraid to fail

If you’ve felt stuck by a fear of failure, why not experiment with acting despite your fears.

The truth is that the top performers in the world are the ones who’ve failed the most. They are not necessarily the most intelligent. However, they are extremely determined and are willing to act despite their fears.

Here’s a hard truth to consider—you need to fail to succeed. Not only that, you must be willing to fail over and over again. It’s a high barrier to entry, but it can be reached with a little faith and a lot of persistence.

Improve your life one experiment at a time

Experimenting with your life can help us find out what we really want out. 

So if you’re unhappy with something, try making a change and see how it goes. Treat it like a simple experiment that can be tweaked and improved.

Do this one at a time with the areas of life that matter to you most, and you’ll find yourself improving your life, one experiment at a time.