What Do You Want?
Try an experiment in order to get more out of life
The Messy Human is back as of today! Hello again! I’d taken an official break since November, in order to move cities. Now I’m ready to write once more.
Explore, Experiment, Dance with Life
Today I’d like to encourage you — and me — to explore the possibilities of experimenting in life. Experimenting with how we act, what we try, and what we go after.
Something about taking a break from writing every Tuesday gave me the chance to consider new ways forward for the Messy Human. It allowed me space for some thought experiments. Now it’s time for a few real experiments in writing and in life, particularly as I’m searching for new kinds of work, an update to my career, and new ways to live in my new city.
Why Experiment
Experimenting is known to foster creativity, to help us find innovative solutions, to let us learn from failures, and to refine our ideas. Research in psychology and business also shows that experiments can lead to increased problem-solving skills, enhanced learning, and a higher likelihood of discovering effective approaches.
During my time moving, I had the repeated thought that I’d like to make a few changes to the Messy Human. However, I didn’t have a lot of time to sit down and strategize.
Yet I still felt that something needed to shift going forward. For one thing, writing weekly on a tight Tuesday-to-Tuesday schedule had started to seem a little stale for me. I noticed that when I did write posts during my declared break over the last 2 months, those posts were about topics that hit with inspiration, rather than because I had promised you an essay. And that felt different. Better. The words came easier.
And then it clicked. I didn’t have to strategize all in one go. I could test and pivot my way to a new plan. That is how, as an experienced corporate strategist, I’d recommend that most new strategies take shape in business or the non-profit landscape. It’s why marketers love A/B testing and why the Lean Startup did so well (with it’s focus on testing quick, cheap minimum viable products before a scale/pivot/close decision).
As a result of this insight, I will continue to write regularly, with the goal of producing work just about every week, sometimes more, sometimes less. I’ll continue to share monthly research based reflection exercises for paid subscribers. But I’ve also decided to allow myself a little room to experiment along the way.
While much of the general advice out there says to “be consistent,” I’m going to shift this a tiny bit and go for being “consistently experimental and curious.”
Read on my dearest subscriber
There are just two more parts to this post.
The first one is a journal prompt for you on the subject of experimentation.
The second is a request for your feedback for me, to help me shape my experiments.
Please read to the end and reply back to this email with your comments.
Find Your Experiments: A Journal Prompt
What do you want in your life? Do you hope for something to start, end, or shift? If so, you might benefit from a little experimentation.
Brainstorm some new ways to approach this arena of your life.
What new things could you try?
What old things could you stop?
What is your most bizarre idea?
Be playful and creative.
Enlist help.
Look from someone else’s perspective.
What do you find?
Feedback Please:
What might you want me write about?
What topics would you like me to research?
What guided journaling topics would you benefit from?
What do you want to ask me?
Which of my usual topics resonate the most:
Self acceptance
Feeling your feelings (e.g. being aware of them, and accepting them), then using them as information
Gentle growth
Play and connection
Owning the fact that being human is a cycle and we never outgrow hard times
Would you be interested in seeing me lean more into any of the following focus areas:
Professional development
Personal development
Research
Personal stories
Guided journaling exercises
Drawing prompts
Other kinds of creative exercises
Guest posts from other writers
Writing workshops
As always, thank you for reading the Messy Human!
Love,
Marisol