This months theme: Novelty in Curiosity
Half the battle with participating in the novelty challenges is the mental game, and the easiest way to beat the game is to change it. Let’s practice curiosity, the foundation of finding novelty.
“Novelty in Curiosity” is March 2026’s 30-day challenge for the Novelty Experiment.
There are a lot of definitions for curiosity. Merriam Webber basically boils it down to 1) want to know stuff, 2) don’t be ridiculous, 3) get into the weird stuff.
That’s going to be my very liberal interpretation anyway.
I’m okay with it anyway because I consider curiosity a top-tier skill.
When I was a kid, the Curious George series was some of my favorite books. It was like if Amelia Bedelia was a monkey, and there’s a lot to love about that (can you tell I’ve been spending quite some time with my young nieces recently?).
As adults, we start to lose some of this curiosity as we settle into the things we know.
There’s an incredible story about which generation is smartest that I tell in my book Being Human (Centric). Without spoiling it, I can confidently say that as we get older, our ability to solve problems based on our lived experiences significantly increases.
And this is a good thing! We need the wisdom of “been there, done that” to help us stop repeating avoidable mistakes, speed up decision making, strengthen intuition, and generally move forward in safety.
The unfortunate part is that many studies show we lose our innate desire to be curious as we age. This study suggests, that it’s correlated to what we think is worthy of our time, that “as future time becomes more limited with age, curiosity is less valued.”
However, we are also learning that it’s not inevitable, and that we can drive different outcomes. Choose to be curious. Part of this choice is in understanding two types of curiosity. This study talks about these as state and trait curiosity:
Trait curiosity: a general and stable feature (think “I’m wired this way”)
State curiosity: a momentary experience (ex: feeling curiosity in response to certain information presented in the moment)
Trait curiosity is the skill we develop, part of us that finds many things interesting and is motivated to explore novelty simply to satisfy our own interests. This trait curiosity also exhibits the ongoing desire to actively seek knowledge and information. People who rank high with this tend to be excellent students, have high job performance, and experience more meaningful moments in life (don’t blame me, the study says it).
But the second kind, state curiosity, actually grows as we age. We become much more engaged in the information we hear, wanting to engage with what we’re hearing and actively pursue the topics that interest us. This curiosity can actually help offset or prevent Alzheimer’s disease and decrease dementia, it’s that extraordinary.
This is why Novelty in curiosity is so important. It’s the foundation of our whole experience as humans. Yes, some of us have the trait, but if we can learn to be curious at our age now (whatever that is), we can use it to thrive throughout all of our remaining years.
This is how we’re going to dive into novelty this month- as a way to explore all kinds of curiosity, big and small, for our health, starting a practice that can have long-reaching benefits.
Talk soon,
Rachel
Leadership trainer, novelty junkie, and human being
P.S. Do you want to hear more about what exactly this novelty experiment is? Check out this post and read more in-depth about the Novelty Experiment.
Join the Novelty Club!
I'm doing 100 novel experiences this year to learn what it means to be human-centric at work and at home.
Join me on the adventures by becoming part of the Novelty Club, and get behind-the-scenes information, special invitations, access to join me in 30-day challenges, and more!
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30-days for Curiosity
Here’s the 30 day breakdown of the challenge:
Week one: Make a list of potential local novelty experiences you can try at some point in March.
Week two: Consult your list, pick something that interests you, and put it on the calendar. You may need to book an appointment, buy a ticket, text some friends, or some other prep!
Week three: Do the thing! Hopefully you’re in full “do it” mode, experiencing that new, unusual, or interesting activity.
Week four: Reflect and keep your eyes peeled for something else. Tell others about your experience to process, relive the fun, and invite others into your same experiment. It expands your whole experience when you do.
Be Curious in Your Own Community
I want to make these challenges as easy for you as possible. This is why I think of a list of potential ways you could find novelty in your own neck of the woods. Here’s a longer list of ideas to get your wheels turning:
Interview someone unexpected: Ask your mail carrier, barista, or neighbor one genuine question about their life/work
Expert for 20 minutes: Find someone who knows about something you don't and ask them to teach you the basics
Reverse mentoring: Ask someone younger than you to explain something from their world (TikTok trends, new slang, a video game)
One Wikipedia rabbit hole per week: Start with something random, click links, see where you end up
15-minute skill taste test: Watch one YouTube tutorial on something you've never done (origami, beatboxing, morse code)
Read the first chapter: Of a book in a genre you'd never normally touch (sci-fi, romance, poetry, technical manual)
Notice one new thing on your commute: A building you've never looked at, a tree, a sign—really see it
Bird/plant identification: Use an app to identify one species you see regularly but have never named
Try the "opposite" opinion: Read an article from a perspective you typically disagree with (not to convert, just to understand)
Assumption audit: Write down three things you believe to be true, then Google if they actually are
Take apart something broken: See how it works inside (old electronics, broken appliance)
Try a random recipe ingredient: Buy something you've never cooked with, experiment
One deep question at dinner: Instead of "how was your day?" ask "what made you curious today?"
Share three things you learned: With a friend, partner, or group—each person shares something new they discovered
"Teach me something": Text a friend and ask them to teach you one thing they know a lot about
Change your route: Take a different way home and notice what's different
Ask a local historian: Most towns have one—ask them about something you've always wondered
Remember: The key is that these aren't destinations or a one-size-fits-all. They're invitations to pay attention differently to what's already around you.
Preview My March Plans
I’m still trying to exercise my own curiosity about this month. Will I be able to get to all 8 things? Will I find things as spring comes to go do? Are there better ways to find things?
Success in the experiment is all about planning. Here are the things I’m already looking forward to that will explore curiosity in my novel experiences:
Paint Splatter Class
Glass class
New music each week based on a blind album choice by someone else (to be curious about other’s preferences, and different music styles)
Trebuchetliday- a holiday my friends and I started that will involve a trebuchet and possibly guitar hero
New type of exercise class
A week of “no” (trying to keep escalating asks until I have 10 no’s)
Of course, there’s so much I can’t predict about what else I might find this month! Stay tuned for my reviews of the events on socials (TikTok and Instagram), along with what other interesting things I stumble into in the weeks to come.
Thanks for joining me on my search for novelty and one human-centric leaders's journey towards a more balanced life.
