Try One New Thing a Day to Diversify Your Life

We’re told we shouldn’t spend all our time partying as a socialite, or as a workaholic at the office, or pumping iron as a gym rat. Following the three pillars of career, relationships, and self we’re supposed to be well-rounded and live a diverse life, right? Encourage you to take that concept one step further and look at our personal roles as they fall into each of those three categories.

For career we might have some of the following roles:

Mentor: mentor junior staff

Liaison: liaison between clients and their expectations to help them meet their goals through their work with me

Career Development: skills to hone in order to be promoted to a position we desire

For relationship we might have some of the following roles:

Partner: being an effective partner or attracting our desired partner

Family Member: how I contribute to my family as a Sister/Brother/Mother/Father/Aunt/Uncle/Cousin (whichever roles apply to you)

Friend: fostering friendships

Networking: nurturing valuable networking that enhances my life

For self we might have some of the following roles:

Citizen: contributing to my country

Neighbor: contributing to my community

Health: encouraging healthy activities

Self-care: look after myself so I’m well enough to actively look after and care for others

When we’re not at ease in our life, it’s typically because one or more of our roles in life isn’t where we want it to be, and as a result our whole life feels out of balance. Identifying roles that are out of balance is sometimes easy, sometimes not. All of our roles are affected by how others perceive us in them, so we don’t always understand why our boss is unhappy with our work, our partner is unhappy with our relationship, or why we feel so down on ourselves without delving deeper into why we feel out of balance.

At Good Life Project this summer with Sarah Mastriani-Levi, she taught us that one of the best ways in life to ask better questions, is to ask more questions. Many times we don’t understand how to provide the best solution because we don’t truly understand the root of the problem or what we’re really trying to solve. By delving in deeper, trying to look at things from another perspective, and cultivating a greater understanding; we develop a better response to problems and how to best solve them.

This idea is reinforced by some of the greatest scientists of our time, like Albert Einstein, who told us “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” If we are at an impasse, it is likely time to change our approach or perspective.

This can be applied to any aspect of our lives. If we think we just can’t find anyone to date even though we go to the same dive bar every Friday trying to look for someone to date, maybe it’s time to join a meetup where you’ll meet people of shared interests instead of trying your luck at the same old bar. Similarly, if you’re not getting the kinds of clients you want, maybe you need to reapproach your marketing strategies and look at attracting a different demographic to your business.

Start diversifying your life by trying one new thing a day. It could be a new cuisine. New genre of music. New way to commute to work. New workout class. Talking to that coworker you’ve never introduced yourself to yet. Whatever it is, do at least one new thing every day and see how it helps enrich your roles in life, helps you find new ways to find balance in life, and helps drive you to live each day more fully.