While listening to the inspirational talk “The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers” by organizational psychologist, Adam Grant, I came to realize how misconceptions and prejudices can negatively impact the decisions we make in life and how important it is to step beyond the usual and examine something new in life to fully unleash one’s creativity. I also came to realize the significance of being oneself, not trying to correspond to some current norms, and looking for one’s unique way of life by trying out various things and even making mistakes.
Indeed, it’s much easier to follow the well-trodden path rather than trying a new one. But it’s much more rewarding to put all the fears away and go beyond the conventional way.
Should I or Should I Not Try Something Different?
According to the Canadian study, all human beings are prone to laziness and tend to put as little efforts as possible while doing something. Of course, it doesn’t mean that we are incapable of accomplishing something great, - it just explains why it gets so difficult for most of us to start doing something we aren’t used to. It might be extremely hard to get up early in the morning to run or do exercises; it can be very problematic to change one’s diet into a healthier one, and so on.
And when it comes to the question: “Should or shouldn’t I try something different?” the initial reaction might be the reluctance of actually trying new things, as it would mean to step out of the comfort zone and to make some extra efforts. So, the first response might be: “why even bother.” And it happens a lot, especially when a person is more or less satisfied with the way everything works.
But one should remember that the initial reaction is not always the best one. Fighting one’s laziness and going, for example, to the gym can be so rewarding after all. Besides, if you try something different, something that is unusual for you, it means you create more options to choose from; and if you don’t like how new things work out, you can always come back to the first option.
Making Progress by Amplifying Opportunities
Even though it might be quite difficult to try something new, it’s very beneficial and rewarding, as one has a chance to get out of the comfort zone, challenge oneself, and fully explore one’s creative force. But the main advantage of trying out new things is that we create more opportunities for ourselves, more options to choose from and, thus, can find the best possible and most convenient option for the moment and then refine it.
The reluctance of testing new things can lead to stagnation; the progress can only come when we extend the opportunities in life, constantly try out new things and then perfect them.
Indeed, what would the life be now if we constantly didn’t try new stuff and didn’t have the courage to explore new options in life? And it can be applied to any area of today’s life.
New Opportunities, Better Business
When we talk about business, it’s especially important to embrace all the current changes and test new options. Businesses that followed all new things that technology had to offer have been far ahead of those that were too slow to consider all the changes and implement new things. Business is like a living organism that should be nourished and given better options in order to grow and progress.
So, when you run a business, always consider that trying out new things is always better than not trying, especially if those things are likely to help the business grow. Keep the eyes wide open to see what’s happening around even when it’s not directly related to your business. One of the best options to fine-tune the business is by workflow optimization. For example, introducing an efficient electronic document management system can help all the employees working from various offices or even countries have much better communication between themselves by sharing files and easily finding the necessary records; besides, it can save time, as it’s much quicker to find the needed information online rather than going through the piles of papers. Depending on one’s needs and the business area, you might also find various automatic plugins that can significantly improve the workflow and, thus, help the business grow.
Everyone is an original thinker who has the capacity to fulfill one’s dreams and live a full and happy life. Everyone has fears and doubts when it comes to trying out new things, - but what differentiates the mere dreamers from the people who take steps in making their dreams come into reality is that the latter take full advantage of trying out new things and, thus, extend their opportunities in life and make progress.