I woke up nervous last Monday.
Not because of the week ahead, although sometimes that happens.
Not because of the work on my plate, even though there’s always plenty of that.
It was the commitment I made… to try a new gym. A bootcamp, no less. Weight training. When you visit the website, there’s a super tough-looking photo of the owner standing next to an intimidating dog. (A smile might be nice)
You get the impression that this might be unpleasant, right?
Probably worth pointing out that I’m not new to physical activity. I’ve been practicing and teaching yoga for more than a decade and running for almost two. I do something active every single day. Last year, I even hired a trainer to help me learn how to lift weights. Before that, I had never picked up a barbell. Today, I know the difference between a dead lift and a bench press.
You could say I’m perfectly primed for this new activity.
I was scared anyway.
I considered cancelling. Postponing for a better day. Who adds something new to the newest day of the work week?
If it weren’t for my friend (the kind who left home at 15 to pursue her sport, who played Division 1 in college, and who now dedicates her professional life to optimizing health)…I probably would’ve bailed.
But cancel on her? I could not swallow that defeat.
So off I went. Water bottle, gym shoes in hand and 3 minutes to spare to find the place, the parking, the front door etc. (Why not add a little scattered, late and lost to the journey?)
I walk in. Music pumping. People everywhere. The class before is just finishing up – everyone doing their own workout, somehow they’re all doing the same thing.
6:30 hits. The next crop of bleary-eyed bootcampers drop into the warm-up – no instruction – just the perfect display of everyone knowing exactly what to do, except me.
The next hour was confusing, intimidating, physically tough and….AWESOME! (no way I push myself this hard at home)
I went back 3 times that week and the next. It still feels – first-day-at-a-new-school awkward – but now I know at least half the things I’m supposed to do and I walk out feeling stronger every time.
New is hard. It’s unfamiliar.
The same is…easy.
Staying in our comfort zone makes total sense.
Routines give us control. Habits hand us certainty.
In a world where unpredictability is the default setting, familiar equals safe.
The brain loves this, too. It craves efficiency.
Anything that saves energy, like doing what we already know, gets filed under “good for survival.”
There is also all kinds of proof that routine leads to success.
Here’s the rub…
Growth is also baked into our wiring.
Even when part of us resists, another part is itching for the stretch.
We’re novelty-seeking creatures.
New challenges light up the brain. Literally.
They trigger dopamine, spark memory, and keep our minds flexible.
Neuroscience shows our brains crave certainty. Habits save energy.
But even so, novelty triggers learning and resilience (NIMH)
Novel moments even help your brain “stamp in” new memories more strongly, thanks to dopamine firing in the hippocampus (Cell Press).
Novelty has this strange side effect: it stretches time. That 6:30 a.m. blur? It felt like an entire episode of growth. Research shows new experiences can make time feel longer and more vivid – like our brains press ‘record’ a little harder (NYU Study).
So yes, I could’ve just gone for a run or picked up the dumbbells in my basement a few times, but where would I be with that? Exactly where I was.
Instead, I’m different than before. Better. Happier. And stronger.
I’ll try to remember the next time someone asks me to try something new. Except bungee jumping or sky-diving. Hard no on those activities.
What’s your next thing?
Mary
Bootcamp-crushing-bad-a$$ (still doing half the stuff wrong the first time around)
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