On Restrictions When Seeking Novely

Novelty is what keeps you young. New experiences, socialising, forging new neural pathways in the brain is more incresingly being recognised as the thing that keeps you young and spry.

Creating an environment in which novelty can flourish can be really difficult for those of us who are tied down with routine, commitments and restrictions that benefit doing the same things day in day out.

But novelty doesn't need to be the extremes of travelling the world, visiting a different museum every weekend or trying every new restaurant in town that opens. Sometimes novelty is just picking to do something that your first thought is to avoid or pick something that isn't your preference.

Don't put yourself in danger, but definitely do occasionally attend things that you usually wouldn't. Walk a diversion for the sake of it. Read or watch things outside of your genre. Engage people in conversation that you'd usually pass and say nothing.

All of these things are shooting out novely probes that may or may not build you some fresh neural pathways in your brain. Keep you growing and keep you interested.

I personally really start to struggle with things that become too samey, and with two elderly rescue dogs we're often quite restricted on when or where we can go and do something and bring them along. Conversely, I thrive on certainty and routine. But the trick is always balance and moderation.

Next time that I find myself slipping into safe choices and old habits I should remind myself that for every time I decline novelty, I deline the length of time my brain could remain sane.