Why it matters: You might not be born a novelty-seeker, but you can become one. The life you want - slower time, deeper connections, joy in the unexpected - isn't determined by your DNA. It's shaped by what you choose to nurture in yourself.
“We’re in a random man’s house, playing ukuleles…”
What would have been your response if you received this from your friend, as most of the world is frantically preparing for a winter snow storm threatening to devastate the state?
Mine, 100% comfortable with my unexpected ideas and rotational business endeavors, had immediate questions but no concerns. She’s used it, I suppose.
You see, my dad came to town this week and he had already struck up a conversation with Ukulele Rick. They both are part of their local city’s “jam sesh” groups (as they called them) and had somehow met via the internet long before we stepped into Ukulele Rick’s house.
Naturally, we needed to stop and see all the uke’ goods. And naturally, I was a willing participant for an interesting adventure.
So off to Ukulele Rick’s house we go.
As my friend and I had the conversation about my current whereabouts, and the block I’m chipped from chatted with a total stranger as they discussed ukulele brands, makers, types, strings, woods, inlays, and more, it got me to wondering: “Maybe I come by this whole novelty thing honestly… 😂”
Apparently, novelty is somewhat traced to our genetics.
In psychology, ‘novelty seeking’ is a behavioral trait measured on a scale that can include extremes of thrill seeking, risk taking, and impulsivity. But in low-levels (called “exploratory excitability (NS1)” on the Cloninger scale) it can appear simply as a measure of curiosity.
Now, I’m just scratching the surface of my research here, but the thing that makes me pause is that novelty seeking is highly heritable… meaning yes, I do come by the search for novelty honestly.
It’s in my nature to desire novelty.
But as the age old adage indicates, nature is only half of the way we become. The other half is in our nurture.
When we’re young, many of us have high propensity to try new things. When we’re 1, we’ll put anything in our mouths. When we’re 3, anything seems like a good thing to jump off of. When we’re 7, any idea from our friends seem like a good idea as long as we do it together. When we’re 16, any time away from our parents seem like a time worth having. When we’re 21, any late night seems like a night worth having.
And just like those children we were, these experiences shape who we become.
At 1, we put dirt in our mouths and as the sour earth fills our senses we decide it’s not worth doing again (or maybe we do). At 3, we jump off the couch and decide the bump isn’t worth the risk (until we forget an hour later). At 7 we decide the embarrassment of that one dare wasn’t worth it. At 16, we miss curfew and decided the tardiness wasn’t worth the grounding. At 21, we have a hangover and decide that some nights are worth a little less morning fog.
With each experience we draw a conclusion, nurturing our selves into a life built on deciding to do, or not do, a thing again. Some with the guidance of parents, guardians, or friends, but many from our own internal decision-maker.
And then somewhere along the way, we stop experimenting altogether. We stop testing. We stop jumping. We stop saying yes to our friends' wild ideas. We trade novelty for routine, curiosity for certainty, the experimental life for the expected one.
Until we decide to start again.
We are so lucky then, that we have the ability to nurture ourselves, at any age, into a life we want to live.
The Novelty Experiment is about centering our lives to getting back to the experiment of living. It’s about walking away from our “shoulds” list, and starting our “wants” list. It’s about redefining what it means to live a productive life. It’s about experimenting with how we might slow our time, and be intentional with our decisions.
I am learning so much already in this process. I’m learning that the simple act of looking can help me find. And others are affirming this too. Already two people have excitably told me about their own paths for novelty, and it fills me with joy to know it’s a “we” on this journey.
As the first month of the Novelty Experiment is coming to a close, and the second is gearing up, I am glad that we have the immediate and irrevocable choice to plot a path we actually desire to take, as simple as it may be, and that not all of this is going to be left up to the genetic Fates.
Talk soon,
Rachel
Leadership trainer, novelty junkie, and human being
P.S. Enjoy this video of my first lesson, and first strumming sequence on the Ukulele. Stand By Me, here I come!
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Thanks for joining me on my search for novelty and one human-centric leaders's journey towards a more balanced life.
