We crave aliveness. And how alive you feel is tied to your ability to discover.
Think about the last time you noticed something you didn’t fully expect. Maybe you finished something difficult and discovered a new edge of yourself. Or you went snorkelling and saw a turtle so big that it made you remember how big the world itself is compared to you. Or tried a new food, and now it’s your favourite.
Discovery sharpens your instincts. It makes you more adaptable to life. Whilst routine protects our mental load, discovery brings back awe. Newness, even in smaller ways like tasting a food you’ve never tried, doesn’t just entertain your curiosity. Newness trains you for resilience. It helps you solve hard problems because it broadens your perspective on life. Discovery is how the world has always moved forward.
The good news is you can feel alive in your immediate environment.
This is a good example – it doesn’t really matter that it may be a myth – it still represents how we make many discoveries in our natural environment. Before Hermès and luxury brands, there was a $20K Roman robe, made from the dye of a spiny murex snail. Legend says Hercules’ dog discovered the dye on a walk, when the dog wondered over, bit into a sea snail and the dye came out. The most excited anyone ever is in this whole process is in the moment of discovery, not in possessing the thing.
We don’t actually know how the dye was discovered, the same way it’s difficult to trace the first time someone discovered an oyster, or found other physical things in nature that hadn’t been seen before. The reason it’s difficult to trace the origin of most natural discoveries is because discovery doesn’t announce itself in advance. There’s no camera ready. No moment of fanfare. Discovering new things is a game of presence.
The courage to act on newness will show up differently depending on how much you’ve practised it throughout your life.
At its best, discovery is when you find something new that you didn’t expect. Newness comes in shades. You don’t have to constantly discover wildly new things to get the benefits of newness – newness can be part of an existing category you know exists, like an apple variety. It isn’t wildly different, but you’re still slightly more resilient, you’re still learning, broadening your perspective and slowing time a little to pause and be present.
Why Do We Seek Discovery At All?
We have an intrinsic need to discover. In the modern worlds we live in, we confuse this by buying new things – but this does not actually quench the desire to discover. But when we discover new things, create and share them, it raises our social status, which is kind of we try to get a shortcut to when we buy certain things – to send a social message.
Why Don’t We Act on Newness More Often?
We don’t act on newness often due to perceived risk. Will I have ‘food regret’ if I eat this thing I haven’t tried before? Will I look like a fool if I try snowboarding and I’m really bad at it? Will I be teased if I wear this thing I like that other people think isn’t normal? The consequences are never as bad as our mind perceives – it’s often our brain just trying to protect us.
How Do You Discover?
Cultivating a lens for discovery is helpful when you need to problem solve or change your perspective – or you want to simply grow as a person.
The one thing all great discoveries have in common: Noticing. You notice or become aware of the thing you see in your physical environment, or become aware of something you want to change.
And then, if that moment of noticing comes with a twinge of discomfort—good. A perfect example is noticing a new fruit or vegetable: ‘I won’t know what to do with it’, ‘what if the others don’t like it‘, ‘how will I know what to do with it’. That’s your signal to respond something like: ‘thanks brain – I appreciate you keeping me safe, and I know I will be because other people have eaten this before me, and even if my loved ones don’t like it at least they can say they tried something they haven’t tried before. I’ll experiment – the kitchen won’t explode. And maybe I’ll like it. And at the very least, it will give us something to talk about around the table.’
So explore. Notice your surroundings. And discover. You were made for it.
Leave a Reply