Experiment with your life. Experiment with big things. Experiment with little things… just experiment
This belief really goes along with the idea that you should take care of yourself because no one else will. I will share more on that one later. I put it in addition because I think it’s an important way to take care of yourself. I believe that experimentation is the key to figuring out how you want to live your life. I also don’t think there are any boundaries on experimentation… you can experiment with your health, your relationships, your job, and anything else you can imagine. I certainly don’t recommend going extreme in all of these things, but it’s really up to you what you want to do. For me there are 2 important things when it comes to experimenting within my life.
- There are no failed experiments
- The experiment is clear & deliberate
- Don’t do too many at once
Over the last couple years I’ve spent countless hours and days experimenting on things. I’ve experimented with sleep, my job, my fitness, my diet, my mental health, and many other things. What I’ve found is that there has been no failed experiments. I spent about a month experimenting with different routines before bed and when I immediately woke up. I would disconnect 1hr before bed and not reconnect until 1hr after I woke up. I drank salt water with lemon to hydrate first thing in the morning. I made sure to get 10 mins of sunlight within the first hour of waking up. I would make sure to move within the first 30 minutes of waking up. This often resulted in me bear crawling around the downstairs of our house while the dog chased me. My wife never caught me doing that, but I’m sure it looked as dumb as it sounds. I do none of these things on a regular basis in the morning or evening. Does that mean they’re failed experiments? NO. I don’t believe in failed experiments. These are good ideas that either don’t work for me, or simply don’t work for me right now. These are things that I can try again later if I want. Some of them are things I know won’t work for me ever which is information I can use. They are not failures. On the other side I’ve had a lot of experiments that have led to great results. I meditate on a regular basis. It took 2 different tries experimenting with meditation for it to stick. I’m now on year 2 meditating at least 3 days a week. It’s yielded great results for me.
The second key piece is that the experiments should be very deliberate. I don’t employ the scientific method with hypotheses and measurements, but I do timebox all of them with specific goals. I try to make sure all my experiments fit within some larger macro question or category. I wanted to bring exercise back in my life so I decided to do 20 miles on my elliptical every week for 1 year. I completed this experiment and the habit stuck. I exercise regularly again. This experiment had a macro and micro component to it that are very clear and deliberate. In another instance I wanted to eat healthier so for the month of January I ate only meat. When I say only meat I mean no vegetables or anything else. Just meat. It wasn’t the most fun thing I’ve done, but it had very clear boundaries. Similar to the exercise experiment it worked in that I eat healthier now. Unlike using my elliptical again eating only meat won’t be part of my future. It’s important that your experiments are clear with their boundaries and have a deliberate outcome you’re driving toward.
The third piece is simply about understand effect and managing life. Realistically I can’t commit to changing more than a few things in my life at any given time. These things all take time and energy. Work doesn’t stop and life doesn’t stop while I do these experiments. At one point I started to try and stack experiments on top of each other to get the “perfect day”. I found myself getting up early so I could fit in Crossfit, meditation, and writing all before work. When I came home I was drained and wanted to make sure I read at night. This doesn’t sound too bad, but as I layered other things on like stretching and journaling before bed I didn’t have any time left for anything. It simply didn’t work for me. I find that a constant rotation of several experiments works best for me. Routine also bores me so trying a few new experiments constantly helps keep my energy up.
I started this experimentation cycle a couple years ago, and it’s really become a cornerstone of my life. The experiments are great, but they’ve also given me tools I can use I didn’t have before. If I’m stressing about something I can journal. If I’m not feeling so great thanks to a fun weekend I can exercise and fast to get my body back to normal. If I find myself getting angry or annoyed I can meditate. These tools are now at the center of my life in a constant rotation along with other experiments. This blog is my latest experiment. I have no idea where it’ll go, but I guarantee I’ll learn and it won’t be a failure in my eyes.