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A Little Spice of New

January 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

With the dark cold days winter upon us, I sometimes feel the natural inclination to settle into my ways, hibernate a little more and stick closer to my knitting. I guess when it is 9 degrees outside that’s only normal but in my opinion, not for long. Sure, I’m all about having a routine and counting on some predictability in life but I am also a believer in adding a spice of newness as often as possible into my life.

Trying something new doesn’t have to be exotic – it can be as simple as trying out a new running path, or picking a different genre of book out of the library. It might be signing up for a class that is out of one’s comfort zone or choosing to explore a new cranny in the city, visiting an off the beaten track museum or trying out a new restaurant. Yesterday, for example, my husband and I took to the kids on adventure to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago where we explored submarines, airplanes, trains, old circuses, the science of storms, the recent moon landing of Curiosity. What a great place to open the mind – and be inspired by invention and innovation, both new and old!

I find that when I try something new, I have renewed energy and often rekindle my appreciation for the “tried and true” things that had begun – for whatever reason – to become less inspiring. Trying something new brings me fresh perspectives, new stories to tell and renewed energy and provides me with inspiration to enhance what I doing by brining new inspirations to the folds or at times better ways of doing things or solving problems. Embracing the new little by little also enables me to come to work a bit more prepared to challenge the “status quo” and the “that’s the way we’ve always done business around here” mentality that so often blinds companies to new opportunities and causes them little by little to settle into their ways, at the expense of innovation and long term growth.

What do you think or do or try today that’s new?