Trying New Things… Risk and Reward

When we try new things, there is always the risk that we will not be happy with our choice, we might try a food we have never tried before and end up disliking it. It could be too sour or too salty. It could be too spicy. We might try a new sport like snowboarding and end up falling down a lot. We might try a new style of music and get a headache. We might check out a different kind of art and be totally disappointed. We might try to speak or write a different language and end up embarrassing ourselves. Who wants that? Sounds risky to me.

But if we take the risk, we might try a new food and end up loving it. It could be sweet or have a great flavor. It could be an experience that makes our taste buds feel like they are in heaven. We might try a new sport and fall down, but we get back up and eventually experience exhilaration, even for a minute. We might see why people love that sport so much. We might try a new kind of music and regret that we didn’t discover it sooner. We might see a new kind of art and be amazed. We might try to write or speak a different language, and we might be a little embarrassed at first; but we don’t let it bother us too much because we know that the only way to improve is to make mistakes and keep on practising.

I say, Try a new food. Try a new activity. Try to listen to some new music. Walk into a gallery, just on a whim, and look around. Try writing and speaking that other language more. Try making some new friends. There are some risks involved, but I know there are rewards too.

Talk about it:

Do you ever try new things?

What kinds of new things do you try?

How do you feel when you try something new?

If you try doing something new, and aren't that good at it, at first?Do you give up or do you keep trying?

Have you ever said "I don't like that" about a food that you've never even tried before? What was it?

Do you consider yourself to be a risk-taker or do you prefer to play it safe?

What stops us from taking risks?

What is a food you tried even though you thought you might not like it?