I’ve recently come across an argument made by an established neurobiologist, Dr. Andrew Huberman, that it is generally beneficial for one’s mental health to maintain a sense of adventure in one’s life by consciously introducing new experiences. Apparently, those don’t have to be front-page-news worthy adventures all the time. In fact, the new experiences could be completely mundane from everybody else’s perspective. The dopamine system that is responsible for subjective perception of joy is positively reinforced by exploring new territory.
Curiously, the new experience doesn’t even have to be a “success” in the conventional sense of the word to have a positive affect on one’s well-being. Suppose, you take a new course as a student or pick up a new hobby as an adult, and it turns out to be a boring drag, which you are sure won’t be of any practical use for you in the future. Arguably, the experience could still be good for you, both in the short- and the long-term, simply because of its novelty.
I notice that children are naturally positively inclined to trying new things. It is not surprising, I suppose, since learning is what they are programmed do all the time. I should mention here that my observations are mostly based on a sample size of one – my nine-year-old daughter. For example, even though she knows (and even I know) that a fruit smoothie is her favourite item on a dessert menu, she would eagerly try a Root Beer float or something along those lines. And even though she would immediately decide that it is not her thing, she would still be happy that she tried it.
