Remember Marco Polo? You know, one of the world’s first travel influencers.
Yeah, this man right here:
Ring a bell?
Well, just in case you skipped history in school (didn’t we all?), he used to be a simple merchant in Venice, until one day when he took the leap of his life and traveled to China with his family.
There, he married a Mongol princess, occupied different jobs in local administrations, documented Chinese history, and even dabbled in Chinese politics (dude even became a governor in China).
In the end, Marco Polo returned from his voyage with an immense amount of knowledge, which would later prove crucial to the economic development in the West. Indeed, he became a very influential person both in Asia and Europe.
Enough about Marco Polo, let’s talk about you for a second.
Have you ever desired to be more? I mean, to be a bigger, better version of yourself. Do you feel like there is a hole in your heart craving for something to fill it – like you’re aspiring to do big things?
Well, I want to tell you that the only way to realize those dreams is by exploring. When you explore in life, you discover new things about life and yourself.
Everybody talks about Albert Einstein today like he’s some sort of god. But the man had to explore different cultures and countries before he could fulfill his true potential. If he had remained in his native town, I doubt whether he would be as famous as he is now.
To be honest, YOU NEED TO EXPLORE in life to fully discover your true potential and capabilities. For example, you’ll never know whether you’re cut out to be a world-famous hiker until you set out on your first hiking vacation.
In case you need further convincing as to why you need to explore in life, scroll down to see some little-known benefits of leaving your comfort zone.
Why you should explore in life
Because your brain demands it, and your life depends on it.
Whatever action you do, it influences different areas of your brain. The more you keep yourself busy with new and complex tasks that are more than just scrolling through Facebook or doing TikTok videos, the more you activate neuroplasticity. This is a function that keeps you sane and healthy-minded.
Doing something new every now and then – something that requires intelligence and various skills – creates new synapses and strengthens existing pathways in your brain. It’s like a “Curiosity killed the cat” case, only this time, “Curiosity made the cat smart enough to stop licking itself in public.”
Besides that, getting out of your comfort zone is the #1 mental health booster for most generations. It expands your social circle, skills, and intellect, making you more attractive to people. So, why not start today?
A zillion ways to explore in life
Here we came up with a few ways for you to explore in life – just a few, since we’re obviously not going to literally write a zillion for an article that’s free to read. However, we promise it’s going to be worth the sneak peek.
- Be active.
Go for outdoor activities. Yes, it’s time to quit gaming and baking for a while. There’s more to life than four walls. Any great project starts within, so our first suggestion is to use your body more. And come on, name one celebrity out there who doesn’t meditate, do yoga, walk their dog at 4 am, or participate in marathons.
We’re trying our best not to sound like your mom, but in order to become the best version of yourself, you need to go outside for a bit.
Work your body while running under sunlight like Gordon Ramsay or meditating on grass like Oprah. We’re not saying that meditation is a straight path to becoming Oprah, but it’s a fresh start.
To name a few things, you could jog, hike, cycle, or just stop taking cabs from home, for starters. (Stop making Uber richer.) Regular, moderate activities, such as brisk walking, have been associated with increasing life expectancy by several years. For example, people who did 150 minutes of exercise or more each week increased life expectancy by about 7 years over those who didn’t do regular moderate exercise.
What’s more, exercising outdoors boosts your metabolism and vitamin D levels, and working out in general loads you up with dopamine, which gives a sense of productivity that beats any chore in the house.
Finally, when you work out and explore outdoor activities, you make new human relationships, realize your “dream body,” exploit opportunities you never knew were there, and become a better all-round individual.
(Here is an outdoor-related NHS-designed video to embed: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercise-health-benefits/).
- Sign up for an apprenticeship.
For those of you born after 2000, an apprenticeship is basically an internship. But usually, it’s for traditional or physical work in areas that are not so common these days, like woodworking or bricklaying.
There are also apprenticeships out there for more modern activities, but one thing you should know is that they prioritize education more than payment, since an apprenticeship is technically a student-first thing.
Sometimes being an apprentice involves traveling; other times, it involves learning to live with a few bucks a day while making God-knows-what out of some strange materials. This is going to be a cultural reset for the lazy, overspending young adult, nevertheless.
Apprenticeships are those kinds of adventures you see in films that promise nothing and give out everything.
In fact, the only thing they can promise is that you’ll never complain about handmade jewelry from Etsy being fifty dollars ever again, and you may stop spending your salary on overpriced coffee like a lunatic.
But all in all, it will make you a better version of yourself. And who knows, you just might find your life purpose there.
A woman once told a tale of how she came to be a successful person via apprenticeship on Quora. She said, and I quote,
“In my case, I learned how to run a business with a pair of early entrepreneurs. It started as a hard, low-paying job. Later it became a multimillion-dollar portfolio of international ecommerce businesses and I became the company’s general manager. That five-year adventure taught me a lot about myself.”
Finally, in case you think apprenticeship sounds a bit medieval, know that the US Department of Labor reports that in 2020 alone, there were over 600k+ active apprentices in the US.
- Read!
Yes, with an exclamation point. Hate to sound like your mom again. Did moms write this article? We hope not.
What’s so special about books anyway? Well, research worldwide has proven that reading trains our intellect. More than half of the people who develop a reading habit have higher chances of improving their communication skills and are better at critical thinking than those who don’t.
Do you think Barack Obama shares his yearly books recommendations for nothing? Go read something!
Whatever your reading material may be, it’s going to help you in some way. Good book? A topic of discussion with friends. Bad book? A better way for you to distinguish good books by comparison. Terrible book? Leave it; don’t you know how to look up Goodreads reviews?
And let me add this: the secrets of life and success are locked away in books. The more books you explore, the more discoveries you’ll make, and the more doors you’ll open.
I never knew anything about the freelancing site called Fiverr until I saw the name in a sci-fi book I read one Halloween night. Can you imagine that? Discovering a money-making opportunity in a sci-fi book.
- Travel somewhere, alone or with friends.
We believe this is pretty self-explanatory. Yet, you may be surprised at how many benefits it has.
Imagine yourself in the pub. You see a beautiful girl and wish to impress her in a conversation she will never forget. Guess what statistics say you should tell her to make sure she’ll give you her number. Exactly, it’s travel stories. Because travel stories are never bad.
Going to see places is the ultimate social booster since nothing takes you out of your comfort zone more than, well, a different place with different people. Obviously!
Before you come up with the classic “But it’s expensive!” excuse, you don’t even have to go that far. Visit a city in a different area. See that cousin who’s left for college.
The biggest shock you’ll experience on your travel will be the cultural one. Rumor has it that in Greece, you can get beaten on the street if you wave your hands in a specific way.
Why not try that yourself? We can’t think of a reason why girls wouldn’t laugh at this story.
And in case you’ve forgotten, Marco Polo became a legend only after he voyaged out of his native country. Perhaps that’s what it’s going to take for you to become a legend yourself. You never know.
- Study personality types.
Ever wanted to get to know yourself without having to go through four years of psychology school? It’s 2021.
There are so many systems out there that classify human behavior, attachment styles, cognitive functions, life paths, whatever. Some examples are MBTI, the Enneagram, and many more. Are they going to show you an exact mirror of yourself? No!
Most of them aren’t even scientifically approved. But they’re definitely fun and introspective. Most of them will start with online tests or books. But YouTube and many other platforms cover these topics well, from explanatory videos down to memes.
Congratulations, now you have a ton of new ways to judge your friends! Just remember, the fact that you’re an ENFP doesn’t justify being an annoying, emotionally manipulative, whatever-it’s-going-to-say-in-the-article kind of person.
- Journal and do Shadow Work.
Since we just talked about psychology, here is a topic for you to research: The theory of the Shadow Self by Carl Jung and his many followers. Jung first wrote about it, but many, many others explained it later on. It’s fine; you can pick the shortcut with internet videos, we won’t tell anyone.
Basically, the Shadow Self, or Shadow Work as it’s also called, is the process of integrating the negative aspects of your personality and accepting that we are flawed and mostly traumatized beings in search of “a meaning.”
With a few tips from the internet, journaling can also help you to understand your own mind and soul.
Or, to say it straight, it will help you make peace with the fact that you’re a simple, limited human with issues.
- Hone a practical skill.
It could be gardening. It could be handcrafting something. It doesn’t really matter what it is.
Studies have shown that more than 60% of the people who practice a handcrafting skill have fewer chances of developing dementia in their later life. I was shocked to the teeth when I learned that.
If you want to be able to go to the restroom by yourself when you get old, then you’d better get yourself a Rubik’s cube.
You never know where the opportunity to start a small business lies. Practical skills can even win you money. And if not, you’ll always have a coping mechanism in knitting clothes for your friend’s pets.
Back in college, I made my own mattress, and my friends laughed at me. In the end, they all paid me a few bucks to make the pillows, smaller mattresses, and stuff like that. I could do that because of a DIY skill I had honed on Skillshare some years before.
Learning practical skills is a lesser-known gate to lovely social groups like online or offline clubs. This is especially meant to help you connect with different generations and demographic groups, as long as you don’t become that cringe-worthy lady in their early 30s whose only personality trait is that she makes pottery.
- Practice meditation.
Yes, we’re getting more and more spiritual in here. Meditation is so popular that everyone nowadays does it – from monks in Tibet, who sacrifice their social lives for the good of humanity and ascension, to rich boss ladies with overpriced gym memberships.
Jokes aside, besides being very accessible – with online and offline groups of all sorts – meditation is scientifically approved to be a great mental health aid. It clears the mind from the chaos of urban life, resolves anger and stress, and generally calms down the body for a few minutes. It even increases sleep quality.
As a way to explore in life, meditation brings answers to so many lingering challenges humans struggle with. According to a research study conducted by the Nature Journal in 2016 to understand why people meditate, here is the list of reasons given by the respondents:
- General wellness (76.2%)
- Improving energy (60%)
- Aiding memory or concentration (50%)
- Anxiety (29.2%)
- Stress (21.6%)
- Depression (17.8%)
Meditation is truly the most accessible way out there to help people evolve and discover themselves. So, next time you feel like breaking mom’s ceramics because she didn’t reply to your texts, maybe put some chill music on and close your eyes for a second.
It works like magic.
- Try to get into intentional relationships.
Befriend your old neighbors down the street, or that uncle you never truly got to bond with. Discover who your local bartender really is.
Whether you’re an introvert or not, becoming friends with someone who’s a polar opposite to you, either socially or in age, teaches you valuable lessons about how short life really is and how wonderful.
Okay, let me hit you with one line you’ve probably never thought of before. Did you know that every neighborhood has at least two or three lonely people waiting for a friend? Don’t believe that? Okay, close your eyes and picture everyone living on your street from beginning to end. Found that person yet?
It doesn’t matter how different you guys are. Exchanging information over coffee with someone new can teach you things you never realized you could find out about life.
Just don’t be overbearing. If they don’t want to become your friends, let it slide. You definitely don’t want a restraining order. There’s a fine line between becoming friends with new people and harassment.
- Track your diet and look for improvements.
You didn’t see that coming, did you? Yes, we truly are what we eat. And this fits even in today’s topic.
The ancient Indians believed that health starts with food, and it’s true.
Nutritionists say we make huge mistakes in our diet daily, from eating too many carbs to too little fiber. We’re not even going to mention junk food or sugar since we’ve all chosen to ignore the warnings. Nothing, but nothing of what we worked so hard to write above matters if you’re not healthy and taking active care of yourself.
Yes. It’s time we acknowledge it. We really sound like your mother now with everything we wrote here. Well, I guess we should have just written one single thing: Listen to your mama. Cut the sugar in the coffee, skip some snacks, maybe think about quitting nicotine. And eat your vegetables.
Finally, explore different diet options. You don’t have to keep living on the same cuisines mama cooked back at home. Now you’re a man or woman of your own world.
Try out new cuisines, add new recipes, remove old recipes, conjure up new stuff you never thought possible. In the end, figure out what nourishes you and what doesn’t. Perhaps you just might look more handsome or beautiful if you do.
Conclusion
When it comes to exploring the world, there are many other things worth mentioning, but there is also some research you should do on your own.
Some things may seem extreme, like changing your environment completely – from where you live, to your job, to the people in your life. Some things are less so, like going on retreats or walking alone in nature.
Life has many beautiful things to offer, and here you are, reading an article, probably at 2 am after scrolling too much. But don’t think that scanning these words once is going to fix your way of living. So go on, get some sleep and start doing something for yourself. Tomorrow’s a new challenge.