As the Experiment has unfolded, my novelty seeking skills have become honed and I have become much more efficient and prolific at discovering sources of novelty. Where once I would have panicked as the clock struck 11:00 pm and I was left with one brief hour to discover and complete a novel experience, I now embrace the challenge with confidence that there is an almost endless amount of novel experiences for anyone who wishes to seek them out. As a result of this new attitude, life seems much more exciting and filled with opportunity and wonder. So, dear reader, let me share a few of my newfound secrets for discovering opportunities for novelty:
Novel Experience Seeking Formula Number One: I would consider this to be one of the best case scenarios for successful novelty seeking as the experience is meaningful, useful, and (in theory), integrates seamlessly with one's life. When applying this novelty seeking formula, I first identify a need, desire, or goal in my life outside of this project. These needs have varied from needing more energy, (i.e. Yoga Nidra), to addressing muscle pains, (i.e. Tea Bath), to completing home improvement projects, (i.e. Basic Wiring for Dummies). From here, I try to find a novel way of addressing the pre-existing need or goal. See? The novelty just blends in with the flow of life, serves a purpose and is in no way disruptive. Love it!
Novel Experience Seeking Formula Number Two: I identify something that I have always wanted to try, but have not prioritized and I make it happen. Making a cheesecake and going to the local Teppanyaki restaurant fall under this category. I particularly revel in these novel activities as they tend to be things that I am more prone to really enjoy. Also, the anticipation is heightened by the fact that I have procrastinated their completion for so very long, and I get the added benefit of checking something off of my mental to do list!
Novel Experience Seeking Formula Number Four: I find inspiration in random places and plan an experience for the future. Inspiration can be found almost everywhere! Whether I'm briefly scanning my Facebook homepage, listening to a story told by a loved one, surfing the web, or reading advertisements in the paper, it is amazing to me how many opportunities for novelty are out there when it becomes a habit to notice them! A friend's comment about tapping his maple trees led to a Google search and the discovery of Maine Maple Sunday. Another friend's Facebook link and personal story led to the discovery of a fun tool on the web. And then there are the many requests and suggestions I have received from readers and friends as this project has unfolded. Other people's lives are a tremendous source of inspiration when you are open to moving outside of your normal comfort zone!
Novel Experience Seeking Formula Number Five: Speaking of moving outside of your comfort zone... I think most people have genres of activities that could be considered atypical for them. I find that activities within these broad categories provide nearly endless opportunities for novelty, though I have sometimes had some initial resistance to stepping that far outside of my comfort zone! For me, home improvement, anything team sports related and visual artsy or craftsy activities have in no way been part of my day to day life since I was a child. However, talk about opportunity for novelty! (In particular, I have discovered that anything creative by definition includes a dose of novelty!) And, interestingly enough, I have actually enjoyed some of these activities the most!
So there you have it! The Novel Experience Experiment's Official List of the Top Five Ways of Discovering Novelty, (Other than a random Google search or web surfing, which can also be mighty effective, FYI!)
Which brings me to tonight's novel experience... Now I am a psychotherapist by trade, so one would think that most methods of working with the mind for healing purposes would at least be familiar to me. This is a genre of experience that is incredibly well traversed! However, while engaging in random web surfing, I came across a link for something called "binaural beats," which purported to increase focus, memory, creativity, decrease stress, pain, help you quit smoking, lose weight, etc., etc., etc.... Apparently a cure all for everything! And, a quick scan of wikipedia confirmed that some of these claims appear to be backed by actual research!
Fearing that these free recordings would some day put me out of business, I put on my newly acquired speech to text headphones and attempted to increase my creativity by listening to this stream of background conversations and strange tones. Really, this is an experience that has to be, well.... experienced! It was quite interesting. I excitedly opened up my blog, curious to see what level of brilliance might come out of me after all this prepping for increased creativity... and had writer's block for the very first time since starting this experiment. Looks like my career choice is safe... for now!
And... If you want to take my suggestions and run with them for seven days, go ahead and join the Novel Experience Challenge! I bet you'll be glad that you did!
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