Today, Do Something You Have Never Done Before (+ 11 Reasons Why It’s Great for You)

For the past weeks I have been immersed in a building project I had dreamed about since last summer: I am building a playhouse for my two boys -- on our apartment's balcony. I have no previous building experience but slowly and steadily the small building is getting closer to completion. I am learning as I go, and it feels great! It's in the very same way that I taught myself computer programming as a kid, or baking my own bread in the past two years: jumping in with both feet, and doing something I had never done before. Just like that, without too many preparations. In fact, I think it's the only way to learn something new. So, if you are only doing things you already know how to do, you are leaving some amazing potential for learning unused. If you need more proof, read the rest of this post. Otherwise, go on already and do something you have never done before: pick a guitar and look up the first chords from YouTube, set up a blog and write your first blog post, take a stand and bring some small change to the world. At first, you will not be perfect. As proud as I am about my playhouse, I must admit that it has its faults. Just a glance at it will reveal that it wasn't built by a professional. But I have created something, and that can be a start for a great new passion and a lifelong adventure. So, I give you permission: today, do something you have never done before. If that's not enough to get you started, here is a list of 11 reasons why it's good for you:

1. It's fun!
2. You will learn a new skill, and help keep your brain healthy.
3. You will outdo your expectations. Your creation doesn't have to fill the standards of a professional to be impressive. Breaking your own limits is all that counts.
4. It will get your creative juices running. Working with completely different tools than you normally do will almost definitely give you completely different ideas.
5. You will become a superhero. Crossing the borders of your comfort zone and succeeding in something new will give you courage and empower you to try out new ideas more easily in the future.
6. It will open up new opportunities. Doing what you have done many times before leads to predictable results. To clear room for new possibilities, you need to do something different.
7. You might become a better person. Picking up a good habit is also most likely doing something you have never done before -- and it could also be something that will change your life for good.
8. You have the chance to make a difference in someone else's life. Sure, if your everyday actions are already changing the lives of dozens, this doesn't count. For the rest of us, giving our time and energy for a good cause is a great way to do something different.
9. You will learn to know yourself better. Doing something for the first time puts you in a situation where you don't normally find yourself in. What better way to test your assumptions on the kind of person you are. The way staying at home with my kids has taught me that I am not as cool and patient as I thought.
10. You can write a blog post about it! I just did.
11. It's the only way to get to doing it for the second time. If you dream of being great at something, there are no shortcuts: you have to start from doing it for the first time.

Now, go do it -- and don't forget to come back and tell me what you did and how it went!