Exploring doesn’t just mean traveling to adventurous, new places. In fact, it doesn’t have to involve traveling at all!
I’ve been receiving various messages lately from different sources telling me to “experience”. To me, experiencing sounds cool but exploring sounds awesome. What if I told you that these could be one and the same?
Exploration can mean many things. Of course, it can mean exploring new places, which is incredibly beneficial. But it could also mean exploring new experiences or even new relationships.
As humans, we learn through experience, but we don’t learn if we stay stuck in our same routines with the same people. That’s where exploration comes into play. Let’s check it out.
Exploring through Travel
Exploring through travel is the most obvious way to explore. It takes us to new places that allow us to experience new landscapes and cultures. Exploring through travel uproots us from our everyday routine, which can help invigorate us with new energy to land new ideas and perspectives.
Oftentimes, travel immerses us in new environments that awe us with beauty that helps connect us with nature and allow our bodies to return to a more natural rhythm outside of the hustle that our daily lives often throw at us. All of this creates ripe opportunities for us to come back from our exploration with a new gem of wisdom or perspective.
Travel not only allows us to see new things, but it frequently opens up opportunities for us to try new things as well.
Exploring through Experience
Exploring through experience can often be overlooked. We don’t need to travel to explore. Trying new activities can be a more routinely accessible way to transport us from the norm. We can explore through new opportunities that arise or that we create for ourselves.
Depending on how far out of your comfort zones these activities are, it can often feel like we’ve stepped into a new world. Furthermore, new activities require our brain to operate in ways outside of how it is accustomed to in our day-to-day routines. This helps us to gain new perspectives, problem-solve in different ways, and conquer fears.
And who knows? Maybe you’ll find a new passion in the process. This can have a ripple effect of helping us bring more joy back into our daily routines and spreading that joy to others.
Speaking of others…
Exploring through Relationships
Potentially the most overlooked mode of exploration is exploration via relationships. I’m not talking the romantic type here. I’m talking the full spectrum of relationships: family, friends, acquaintances, etc. It could even be someone you bumped into on a plane. While I admit that I usually try to avoid conversation on the plane, I’ve met some really interesting people that I’ve learned a lot from.
It’s easy to get stuck in the same way of thinking and the same belief systems when we constantly surround ourselves with the same circle of people. It’s great, even necessary, to have our stable tribe. But we gain new perspectives, exposures, and insights when we are open to meeting and truly listening to others. We may even be inspired!
So for those of you like me who prefer their routine and their small tribe, let’s work together to explore in new ways. Let’s embrace the possibility of trying, what we can learn from others, and the energy that comes from being open to all life has to offer.
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Disclaimer: This blog should not be construed as providing, or intending to provide professional financial, legal, psychological, or other professional advice. It is simply meant to share my experiences with those who may find them relatable and helpful.