The Science is In! Trying New Things Makes You Happier

Science has finally shown that those of us that choose the “Interesting Path” in life are happier:

“Psychologist Rich Walker of Winston-Salem State University looked at 30,000 event memories and over 500 diaries, ranging from durations of 3 months to 4 years, and says that people who engage in a variety of experiences are more likely to retain positive emotions and minimize negative ones than people who have fewer experiences.”

This is great news and yet another reason to go out and keep trying new things.

Eat different foods, travel to more countries, meet more people and collect more experiences.

Pursue interesting hobbies, read various types of interesting books and keep adding to your interesting resume.

None of this should be a surprise really. Think of the rush that you get when trying something new. For some things it is a little rush and for others it is much more intense. Either way trying new things keeps us engaged and feeling more alive. It is great to know that living this way also officially makes you happier.

Think of the more boring people you know that are less likely to try new things. Are they among the happier people that you know or the more grumpy?

People who hate to try new things live in a life that is doomed for misery. Whenever circumstances arise that force them to do something a different way than that which they have grown accustomed to they experience massive amounts of pain. They feel anger, sadness, fear and bitterness. We all know that this is the way life works. Circumstances often don’t go according to plan and we are forced to take detours.

When an interesting person is forced to take a different path or try something new they embrace it. Even if they are a little apprehensive they see the silver lining knowing that they just might find something new that they like. Even if they don’t like the new thing that they try they value the lesson learned and experience gained.