The Power of Self-Experimentation: How to Discover What Works Best for You
Hello people,
let's start the new year by talking about a crucial principle which often gets overlooked. When learning about a specific topic, especially self-help and productivity, people often take the advice as dogma. In other words, what is told is always true and will work for me if I apply it. It is obvious that this statement isn't true, but I still see others implementing strategies they've seen, but never getting much out of them. This is often the case because the principles just don't resonate with the strengths and weaknesses of the specific person.
So, I'm gonna throw in a new concept which you could apply to your mindset. It's that life is a huge experiment – you have the duty to try things and see if they work for you.
This principle is as important as lifelong learning. If you never try out different techniques to organize yourself, then you will never find one that will stick with you for the rest of your life. Only dipping your toes into one kind of team sport, will never get you the one which you will continuously burn for and have talent in.
The goal of self-experimentation is to find the things which prove to be effective in your life. For example, if you have a problem with procrastination: some people would tell their brain to do the thing for just 2 minutes, but by that get into the task. Others will eliminate all the distractions and end up doing the awful thing, because nothing else is left to do. You could also try to make the task more fun by, for example, listening to music. There are so many strategies to try out!
By this process, you start seeing similarities in the things you do in consideration of your perceived strengths and weaknesses. You start having more control because you explore your own path. I should also mention, when reading a book about being happier, better investing or successful relationships, never copy everything which the author recommends. Actually, focus on applying and testing principles and strategies and seeing for yourself if they actually work.
This much experimentation also leads to more creativity and innovation, as you are constantly testing and trying new things. Additionally, it will help with being more flexible and adaptable, as you are open to learning from your experiences and adjusting your approach as needed. In conclusion it's just a big part of self-awareness and getting to know your own preferences.
How to actually experiment is pretty obvious. Though, a game changer could be to still be as flexible as to never stamp off a subject or niche. For example, if you try soccer and it's not fun, you got hurt and everyone was pretty mean, don't throw away team sport and especially exercising in general! Giving up in this regard and now thinking that every team sport is bad will take so many fun and healthy experiences from you.
Have a pleasant start into the new year and consider checking out my others posts.
