INNER BEAUTY
Did you know there´s actually a job title called Surpriseologist? That´s exactly what Tania Luna is. In 2008 she co-founded her company Surprise Industries with her sister and today they have clients like Google, Loréal and Whole Foods. Tania Luna recently gave an appreciated TED talk about how to make your life more surprising. As Luna says, "surprises make life simultaneously more serene and more exciting."
Tania Luna shares her best tips on how to make your life more surprising at the great TED blog. Here´s a selection of her best tips. Read the whole article and more tips at TED.
- Commit to the mindset and process of surprise. Decide to be a surprisologist, and explore the world through this lens. Ask yourself, “What would a surprisologist do?”
- Get to the pot of gold on the other side of awkward. Remind yourself that all the good stuff in life lies behind a sticky clump of discomfort and uncertainty. Few people follow their dreams or take positive risks — not because it’s difficult or even scary, but because we avoid that sensation of uncertainty that we call awkwardness. Learn to love it. Remind yourself that discomfort means you are growing AND reaching someplace special that few people dare to go.
- Stop Googling away delight. I love instant information, but I also know that seeing photos of my hotel room before I get there strips my life of surprise, discovery and serendipity. Let yourself imagine and then get surprised.
- Turn your social circle into a different shape. Being surrounded by people like us is comforting, but it also stops us from growing and learning. Go out of your way to speak with and empathize with people who don’t share your norms.
- Get lost. If you always know where you’re going, you’ll never get someplace new. Let yourself wander, mapless, in an unfamiliar park or neighborhood.
I admit to almost always googling away the delight...as a researcher at heart this one is difficult for me. But I do know the importance of leaving your comfort zone and getting a little lost sometimes. What about you?
[Text source TED Blog. Image from Pinterest via lillyunique.tumblr.com]
