Unexpected Benefits of the Unknown, Uncertain and Uncomfortable
Lessons From 11 Gulps That Are Shaking Up My Life
On 27th July I began my quest to do 52 things to take me into the unknown, the uncertain and the uncomfortable - Gulps! as I’m calling them. I've done 11, so just over 20% through.
The Gulps! so far have been:
1. Dawn to dusk walk, unplugged
2. Speaking at the Sydney International Boat Show
3. Trying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
4. Getting up at 4:30am and getting in the water for a week
5. Flying Trapeze
6. Speed dating
7. 24-hour technology fast
8. 3 hours exercise a day for 7 days
9. Going to a gig solo
10. Vegan for a week
11. Salsa dancing
Each one has had its own takeaways, but some themes are bubbling up and this quest has already brought greater value than I imagined.
more Energised
This is the biggest one. Doing these Gulps! has brought an unexpected energy to my life, a fresh vitality. There’s something invigorating about taking on these little challenges — it’s making me more engaged with life and the act of living.
Doing these things – having fresh experiences and talking to different people is energising.
Part of the boost comes from a healthy dose of the ‘feel-good’ hormone dopamine (i.e. not the dose we get from scrolling on phones). New experiences trigger the release of dopamine, the hormone linked to motivation and a sense of reward (1).
This energy doesn't just come from the excitement of doing something new. It comes from the resistance as well. Doing things like going vegan for a week or committing to three hours of exercise a day — there’s definitely a big part of me that doesn’t want to do it. It’s uncomfortable, unwelcome, and sometimes exhausting.
Getting through these gives me a sense of accomplishment which has a ripple effect. There is a feeling of momentum and forward motion.
This has a positive impact on the areas of my life that are a slow burn. Like building my business. It takes time and doesn’t give me the energy that comes from significant progress and momentum. These Gulps! are invigorating and making me more productive.
Anyone pursuing long-term goals, whether business, professional or personal, can find these slow burners an energy suck. The flames of motivation at the start can be reduced to dull embers.
Introducing new things is like oxygen for the fire, bringing those flames back and energy to everything we do.
breaking routines
Routine is comforting, it can be productive, but it can also be a trap. When life becomes predictable, we move through our days on autopilot.
These Gulps! have broken me out of autopilot and shaken up my daily habits — whether waking up early for a swim, going to a gig or swinging on a trapeze on a Saturday afternoon.
These activities have snapped me out of routines waking parts of me that have been dormant. For example, I used to love seeing music live but hadn’t been for ages. Going to that gig was a friendly reminder of how much I enjoy it. I’d gotten stuck in my habit of staying in, going to be early to get up early.
There’s a mental refreshment that comes with breaking out of routine.
Don’t get me wrong, routines are valuable, creating efficiency and reducing the number of decisions that need to be made. They create structure.
But on the downside, they can lead to stagnation, dropping things that used to bring us joy. We get stuck in our ways and forget how to be spontaneous.
Life can become a Groundhog Day existence without growth and new stimulation leading to boredom and dissatisfaction.
Holding these routines lightly and taking a break from them can give a renewed sense of freedom and flexibility. We create space for new opportunities and possibilities.
These Gulps! have made me see I have more time than I realised for fun and new experiences. I think we have more time than we appreciate.
As someone I met while doing my 4:30am get up and swim said, “I get an extra day a week from people who get up at 6:30am.” It’s repurposing the time spent e.g. watching TV or doom scrolling on phones.
That time can be put to more rewarding and valuable activities.
DOING THE HARD STUFF
Listening to Dr Huberman chatting to Jay Shetty (2) the other day he shared the importance of doing harder things that we have an internal resistance to. Doing these things activates an area in our brain called the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) and it grows.
The aMCC is involved in cognitive control, decision-making, and managing internal conflict, like overcoming resistance to doing something uncomfortable. Regularly pushing ourselves to do things we have some kind of resistance to, engages this region of the brain
It’s like we're building our willpower muscle, as we train our brain to get better at overcoming resistance.
As a result of these uncomfortable Gulps! I’m getting the trust back that I can do the harder things. I feel I’m getting my edge back that I lost through the COVID sh*tshow.
Doing these hard things might not feel so great at the time, but they make me feel good after.
The happiest people I know are those who engage in voluntary struggle – who test their limits, who fall in love with the hard.
Sahil Bloom
The more we do these activities, the bigger the challenges we will take on. We learn to love the journey and embrace the struggle because of the internal rewards these pursuits bring.
These Gulps! are also stretching me and recalibrating my internal scale of "hard". For example, after exercising for three hours a day for a week, doing two hours feels easy.
Another win has also been getting an increased dose of joy in the ordinary. For example, after a week of oat milk sucking the flavour out of my coffee, the enjoyment I got from my normal coffee was boosted tenfold!
In closing
This quest has me feeling more alive and more connected to my day-to-day. I’m engaging with life in a way that brings excitement and energy. I feel lighter, more open, and more receptive to what’s happening around me.
We are regularly told how we should get out of our comfort zone. That advice can feel a bit vague and nebulous. It can be hard to know where to start. These kind of relatively easy-to-fit-in activities are just a few examples of things we can do.
So…what could you do this week that’ll take you into the unknown, uncertain or uncomfortable? My suggestion is you come up with 10 ideas, pick one and do it!
If you’d like some prompts then drop me a message and I’ll send a list of ideas.