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Home | Personal Development | Do Something New

Do Something New

BY: T. Franklin Murphy  | March 2013 (edited October 20, 2021)
 An empty freeway with a start sign. A Flourishing Life Society article on doing something new.
Adobe Stock Photos
We must fight stagnation by reaching beyond comfort zone and doing something new.
A challenge free life creates emptiness and flabby muscles. We discover richness reaching beyond comfort by pushing past ordinary boundaries and exploring the dark unknowns. The luring mirage of safety lulls us into stagnation, running from challenges, we sit and decay.

New Endeavors Sometimes Lead to Failure

​​Newness invites the possibility of failure, demanding focus and additional resources, more than we comfortably can give. When we venture beyond the ease of security, we have no guarantee of success; we must development new skills, while facing unpredictable challenges.

Many frantically avoid failure by dodging opportunities that require expansion. Their life of limitations avoids anxiety, creating stagnation and decay. Initially avoidance provides security; but the security is a mirage. Missed experiences accumulate, narrowing skills, and expanding vulnerabilities.

​See Fear of Failure for more on this topic
"​The list of things we can do differently is endless. When you start to change the way of doing things, you expand your mindset and make room for opportunities."
 Laura Capell-Abra  |  No More Ifs or Buts

New Experiences Builds Skills

​Exposure from brave ventures—whether we failed or succeeded—builds life skills. Failing to develop job skills limits income, failing to develop social skills limits relationships, and failing to understand emotions leads to misdirected reactions. The skills from expanded expertise become resources to succeed. True security is competence in our strength, creativity, and courage—not from avoiding failure. Sometimes skills surmount a challenge; other times skills aide in recovery after failure.

Surviving Failure

We will occasionally fail when reaching beyond comfortable patterns. Failure is difficult. It hurts; but failure is part of learning. Pain from past failures resurface, sparking new fears, reminding that we may fail again. We must struggle through the inevitable learning-curve to gain new proficiencies—new expanded comfort zones. 

When we learn a new professional skill, secondary characteristics also develop, such as determination, humility, creativity, and courage. Even if we fail at the original goal, the secondary characteristics were still developed.
 
Exchanging relief in the present for long-term growth is simple; but by allowing failure, without viewing it as a catastrophe, we discover exhilarating challenges that demand full attention.

See Flow State for more on this topic

We find security not in predictable success but in our capacity to conquer. Our lives flourish when we engage in tasks and hobbies that challenge skills and intellect. 
 
Feel the exhilaration by engaging in something new, activity that pushes your abilities. The thrill of growth, the sense of meaning, and lifelong growth will follow.

​Do something new, I double dog dare you!
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T. Franklin Murphy
T. Franklin Murphy
Wellness. Writer. Researcher.
​T. Franklin Murphy has a degree in psychology. He tirelessly researches scientific findings that contribute to wellness. In 2010, he began publishing his findings.

Index:

Flourishing in Life
  • Personal Development
  • Addiction Recovery
  • Wellness 
Psychology of Wellness
  • Emotions​
  • Personality
  • Defense Mechanisms
Flourishing Relationships
  • Intimate/Romance
  • Parent/Child
  • Society
Health and Fitness
Research
About Flourishing Life
Psychology Definitions Data Base Link
Link to an alphabetical listing of Flourishing Life Society article topics
External Links:
External Link: Want to be happier? Try getting to know yourself
External Link: Five Daily Habits To Unleash Your Creativity In 2020
External Link: “Our calm is contagious”: How to use mindfulness in a pandemic
External Link: The Benefits of Being Uncomfortable
External Link:  Are You Addicted To Busyness?
External Link: Procrastination, and how it has everything to do with fear of failure
External Link: How to Stop Feeling Guilty and Move on from the Past

​Other Flourishing Life Society articles of interest on this topic:

Behavior Activation. A Flourishing Life Society article link
Flourishing Life Society article link. Ask the Universe
Flourishing Life Society article link. Nine Pillars of well-being
We are engaged in a constant work of becoming, satisfying needs, entertaining wants, and creating meaning. We can do this purposely or haphazardly.
A Flourishing Life Society article link. Overly Positive
Keeping on trck when life obstacles interfere
A Flourishing Life Society article link. Self Enlightenment
Seizing the day is a joyful acceptance and a timeless honoring of the preciousness of life. Seizing the day creates a joyful connection to living.
When life overwhelms and our efforts fall flat, we sometimes learn to not fight, and quietly suffer.
FLS Link. The Experience Machine: In 1974, Robert Nozick posed a question. Would you plug into an experience machine that provided all the feelings of desired experience without the struggles of reality?
A Flourishing Life Article link. A Quiet Life of Desperation
A Flourishing Life Society article link. Fear of Failure
Internal Link: Pursuit of Happiness | If the sole purpose of our existence is to increase pleasure, we will never be satisfied. Living a full and rich life experiences many emotions. Happiness is a balance of healthy thoughts and growth promoting actions.
A Flourishing Life Society article link. Finding Peace
FLS internal Link. Life's Journey: Structure and Chaos.
Picture Link: Venturing into the Unknown-- Carefully moving forward in a complex world.
We must fight stagnation by reaching beyond comfort zone and doing something challenging.
Picture
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