I Challenge You to DISCOVER

I have an idea. I want to present it to you, to see if you would like to be a part of a challenge that will make your life even more awesome... probably.

When we travel, everything is new and exciting. New places, new people, new colors and cultures and foods to try. These experiences are vivid because they stir our emotions: excitement, wonder, awe... or perhaps frustration, anger, or desperation. Whatever the experience is, it is not mediocre or apathetic. We remember the moments when the new unfurls a part of our soul that had laid dormant for so long in our comfort, in our stagnation. Looking back on these experiences, it is easy to see that the new stirs strong emotions, and because of that strength, these memories are more vivid. Memories thrive on emotion, and the stronger the emotion, the stronger the memory.

What I'm trying to say is that when we experience something new, our life is enhanced. It becomes more colorful and exciting. And though we can't all travel the world to gain experiences of that magnitude, there ARE ways we can evoke these emotions right here at home.

My challenge to you is this: Do something new, at least once a week.

This can be going to a new restaurant or trying a new activity or visiting a new place or even something as simple as cooking a new dish or ordering a drink you have never tried. Whether you like it or not, whether you have fun or experience disappointment, you will be putting yourself outside of your normal, everyday habits, adding more color to your life.

The second part of this challenge is this: Document your new experience.

I think the best way to do this would be to buy a blank sketch book or journal. Let's call this our "Discovery Journal." Write about your New Experience, or draw a picture, or tape a photo in it. If you have another way in which you would like to document your journey, go for it! This is a creative experience. In some way, record it.

This challenge starts on January 1, 2014. I'm proposing this challenge at the beginning of December, 2013, so that we have a month to prepare: a month to buy a journal, a month to reflect on where your life is now, and a month to begin thinking about what experiences you would like to have in 2014. I have already started a list of ideas that I may want to tackle in the coming year: Take a glass-blowing class, learn how to make spiced wine, ride the aerial tram at OHSU, go kayaking... the possibilities are endless and exciting to think about. What do you want to experience in your life but you haven't made the time to do yet? Now is the time!

And if you think this is a good idea, tell your friends, tell your family! Get them to do it with you, and the experience can be shared with those you love. It may inspire some new trips and activities together, and what is more fun that trying something new with someone you can laugh about it with?

After a year, you will have had at least 52 New Experiences, and have enhanced your life in 52 ways, whether big or small. This challenge is for you. Our life is passing us by every day, NOW is the time to experience it.

Let's make it beautiful, yes?

Challenge extended!