Why Try New Things?

Why should we try new things?

Here at True Balance Karate, we have a social emotional learning program called True Character. I’m Master H, owner and chief instructor here at the studio, and I have two master’s degrees in education, and we have developed this curriculum to best meet the needs of our youngest students who are four, to our oldest student who is 85.

And this month we were talking about open-mindedness, and specifically this week we’re talking about why it’s important to try new things. And the short answer is doing the same thing all the time is boring. The longer answer is it gives us a lot of knowledge, it gives us a good base of abilities, and it gives us the opportunity to not be boring.

Trying New Foods

So think, if you will, about food and trying new things. I have two kids. I have had them sit in front of me over dinnertime, “I’m not going to try it. I don’t want to try it, I’m not going to like it.” All that kind of normalcy that goes along with getting kids to try something new. In fact, I remember very specifically being eight years old and going through that with my own parents. I shared that story in the last video.

And if we are trying new things, obviously our diet is going to be very well-rounded. Some vegetables, some fruits, some proteins, some dairy, all the food groups, including the desserts as well. And it’s not boring because we wouldn’t be eating this same thing every single day. I could tell you right now what I’m going to have for breakfast tomorrow, because breakfast for me is the same meal every single day. However, I also know that I like other breakfast foods. I like certain cereals, I like pancakes, I like waffles.

I like other breakfast foods along the way, it’s just that during the week, Master Helsdon and myself, we eat the same breakfast in the morning. Lunch is always different. Dinner’s always different. We try to give ourselves different foods to pick from, those kinds of things, so that we have lots to choose from.

The kids at the studio have heard the story about being presented with a plate full of brown, mushy foods. And basically if you were given a plate of brown mushy food, would you try it? Would you be open-minded and think about trying the new food in front of you? And at this point in time, the kids have heard the story enough to know that we’re talking about chocolate pudding and it’s brown and it’s mushy and it’s right in front of you and it doesn’t look really good, but yet we all know that it tastes really good. And they’re like, “Well, yeah, because it’s chocolate pudding. I would totally try that.” But what if you didn’t know what it was?

And so when we’re trying new things, we want to make sure that we have that open-minded attitude.

Helping Others be Open-Minded

Many years ago, I was actually given an opportunity to travel to China for three weeks through my college. It was one of those take a college course kind of things. And so I was there and their food is very different than our food. And I was willing to try everything, at least one bite. If I didn’t like it, I didn’t take any more of it, but I took at least one bite of all the foods in front of me because I knew that there were some things that I really enjoyed and there was probably going to be some things that I wouldn’t enjoy. And I’m one of the lucky people, I have no food allergies to have to worry about.

And then I would share with everybody, this is kind of what it’s like. And when we’re trying new things, that’s when it’s important to ask questions. So I was very willing to try everything, and all of my friends that were on the trip with me, they would ask questions, “Is it spicy? Is it not so spicy? Is it really chewy? What’s the texture? What’s the flavor? What could you compare it to?” Because they needed a little bit more knowledge before they were willing to try something. And some people are like that, and other people are willing to just jump in and try something for the very first time. That’s part of being open-minded.

Asking Good Questions

When it comes to activities like here at the studio, the same rules apply, asking good questions. What are we going to be doing in class today? Can you tell me more about that? How do I make this better? I want to try this, but I’m scared. Especially when it comes to a jump kick, sometimes the kids are a little scared to do the jumps, so then we have to explain like, okay, this is what I want to see your body do before you jump into the air, that kind of thing. So when we give some knowledge or some pre-framing that can help leave everybody’s minds more open because now they have a better picture in their head of what to expect, and then they’re more willing to take that risk to try that new thing.

And so as we’re trying new things, it’s a matter of, let’s remember some good questions to ask. Let’s sit down and ask what’s making us nervous?

Open-Mindedness as Adults

As adults when we choose to try new things, because we should, as adults, still try something new, we should push ourselves out of our comfort zone, we should expand our brains and challenge ourselves in new ways. We need to remember to ask questions of people around us as well, so that we can do that.

Maybe it’s trying something at work, like taking on a new project or something like that. Maybe it’s going to a new restaurant that you’re not quite sure of, trying a new type of food that you’ve never tried before, taking a challenge that way. Jumping onto the karate mat with your student and trying a class with them, that’s another way to try something new. And so when we’ve got that open-mindedness, when we are able to ask those questions, when we know what’s expected, we’re able to try those new things.

And so as we continue through this month of working on being open-minded, we need to remember to listen, to learn, and then make a decision after we’ve tried at least one time, where we’re at. And that’s how we best show our open-mindedness. Listen, learn and decide for ourselves what we need to do.

Thanks, and I’ll see you on the mat!

True Balance Karate was founded in 2012 by Master Sue and Paul Helsdon.

We offer kids karate lessons for pre-school children ages 3-6 and elementary age kids ages 7 and up. These lessons are designed to develop the critical building blocks kids need — specialized for their age group — for school excellence and later success in life.

Our adult martial arts training is a complete adult fitness and conditioning program for adults who want to lose weight, get (and stay) in shape, or learn self-defense in a supportive environment.

Instructors can answer questions or be contacted 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week at 630-663-2000. You can also contact us here.