| Novelty. I’ve done a lot of research on this subject, because I find it fascinating. I knew novelty was important, I just didn’t know how important it was to our lives. If you’re wondering what in the world I am talking about, read on. Novelty is turns out is so necessary to our well-being that researchers have identified it as a predictor of longevity. Their research has shown that people who seek out new experiences throughout their lives live happier, healthier lives. In short, novelty makes us happy. Why does it make us happy? When we experience something novel which can be anything from learning a new skill, buying a new outfit (styling an outfit differently), traveling to a new environment, or anything that is new to us, the “pleasure centers” of the brain are flooded with dopamine. Dopamine as we know is our feel-good chemical. This process in the human brain is thought to have granted us an advantage….to encourage our adventurousness so we would have a greater chance at survival. Now that we know novelty is so important to living a well-lived life, let’s explore some ways you can add more novelty to your every day: 1) Keep it simple. Remember what I said earlier about anything we do that’s new to us will trigger this in our brains? One idea is to take a different route home from work, possibly change up what coffee you drink in the morning, eat a meal in your backyard, or visit an intriguing store you’ve driven by but never stopped. Keeping it simple makes doing a daily novelty adventure possible and keeps our routines and novelty in balance. Too much novelty, without routines, will have the opposite effect and stress you out more than contribute to your happiness. 2) Mix it up. Routines are healthy and normal, but as we get older we fall more into routines than we do new experiences. This lack of “newness” will cause our brains to go on autopilot. Go ahead and reorder one daily routine in your day. Start with something you normally put at the end of your day or vice versa. I wouldn’t recommend this with your daily coffee…..but you get the idea. 🙂 3) Make sure you switch up what places you go to to give yourself that daily adventure. Although simple changes can provide that novelty reaction in our brain, going to the same source does not give us the same result. For example, you can’t decide to start meeting your friends at the local shop at the same time, order the same thing and talk about the same things and hope that will continue to be your daily adventure. Our brains are great at adapting and will file this outing away as routine, not novelty. How will you get your daily dose of adventure? Let me know what creative ways you come up with. If you want to learn more about creating novelty in your life or wardrobe, email me for a complimentary 30 minute session. Signaturestylelifecoaching@gmail.com Kat Alder, MA Fashion Translated Trained Stylist, Certified Martha Beck Wayfinder Coach Signature Style Life Coaching |
