Cow’s Life - Thinking Outside Of The Barn

Thanks to a natural zest for life, the happiest people are always on the hunt for new experiences. I must admit that I am a lot happier after I did something that was unthinkable a few years back : rock climbing, camping, and snowboarding. Not only these sports have shaped up my confidence in my own physical and mental capabilities, the experiences also offered me a chance to look at nature and life in a totally different perspective. To the least, I just don’t get hung up on small things anymore (most of the time… ).

As the snow season closed up, I started a new gig these days: learn how to play golf. Today is my second time taking a few swings at the driving range and I sucked. But just like every other new thing I have tried, I am going to keep going back to the driving range until I graduate. Part of the fun while learning a new stuff is the experience of failure and the journey from “can’t do it” to “I did it”. It really keeps you motivated everyday hoping tomorrow is the day that “I will finally get it”.

The experts have suggested to set a goal of being willing to make one mistake every single day. This encourages you to try new experiences you might otherwise have avoided out of fear of failure. Plus, exercising your curiosity in this manner has been proved to promote happiness: Neurology researchers have found that diving into a fresh experience triggers the production of dopamine, one of the body’s feel-good chemicals.

I am a living proof. I am a much happier person once I started trying new things I sucked at or never thought about doing.