Much has been said about the power and benefits of habit and routines, including lower stress and more productivity. Yet, habit and routine can also have a dark side. They encourage us to become stagnate in jobs or situations that we don’t love or that don’t empower us. Trying something new means abandoning our routines for a while or developing new ones.
Let’s look at three larger benefits.
Boosts Your Creativity
As great as routine and familiarity are at making sure we pick up the kids and make lunch for work, they can also start wearing down our creativity. It turns out that creativity depends a lot on fresh experiences. Trying something new gives your brain fresh material to play with and can lead to new bursts of creativity.
Reduce Fear
The prospect of trying something new often brings with it the vague but persistent fear of some failure. Fear has a way of growing and infecting your view of other things, even the familiar. When you try something new, you decide you won’t be afraid of that potential failure. You start teaching yourself to be less afraid of everything else. You can even pick something where failure means nothing, like taking up abstract painting. Also, if you get it “wrong,” no one will know.
You Improve Product You
In a sense, you are the product you sell to an employer. You bring skills, experience, and knowledge to the table. When you try new things, you expand your skills and broaden your experience. You improve the product that is you, which can make it easier to secure a raise or a better job. Of course, that means you must pick new things that have some relevance to your job or desired career path.
Trying new things has other benefits, such as making you a better-rounded person or simply improving your self-knowledge. Still, it’s a solid first step in boosting your creativity. It can help you master your fear. Learning new things can also make you a better catch for potential employers.
Spend a lot of time expanding your skills without much appreciation from your current employer? Contact GPS, and we’ll help you find an employer who wants those new skills.