Recently I lost a close family member to cancer and during that time of grieving, I was reminded how fleeting life can be and that I wanted to seize every moment moving forward. I vowed to try something new, to push myself to show up to life every day.

My life had become a routine of commuting to work, sitting in a cubicle, and then coming home and repeating the same evening activities almost daily. Do your work days all seem to be a blur and before you know it you’re waking up on Saturday uninspired? I can relate.

So, I promised myself that I would begin to incorporate new experiences into my day to break up the monotony, force my brain to fire off new circuits to positively impact my life and my health. Some days I wake up and already know what new experience I will have on that particular day and other days I refer to a bucket list of sorts saved in my phone notes. Either way, I’m having a blast learning about myself, firing up my brain, and sharing these experiences with others. I’m feeling rejuvenated and I’m showing up for life, a more delightful one.

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” – Henry David Thoreau

We only get one life and I plan to live mine to the fullest. The following list is made up of activities I recently experienced or that I hope to try soon. Not all of these experiences require much money or a lot of time required. Perhaps you would like to stretch the boundaries of your comfort zone and try one or all of them too?

1. Go to brunch with your parent at a restaurant you’ve never tried.
2. Drive a different route to work.
3. Call up a family member you haven’t spoken to in years (or that you only text on occasion) and ask them about their day.
4. Reach out to a co-worker or friend who works nearby and asked them to meet you for lunch.
5. Volunteer on a committee, for your church or kid’s school or for a neighborhood association.
6. Say yes when a friend invites you to travel to the lake, go camping, or site-seeing outside of town. Better yet, ask them to go with you.
7. Eat local. Sip on a coffee at a local cafe or try the seasonal beer at a brewery.
8. Style your hair differently than you did yesterday.
9. Change up your fragrance. Wear new perfume or cologne.
10. Pull your bicycle out of the garage and take it for a spin around the neighborhood after dinner one evening.
11. Visit the library, walk over to a category of books that interest you and close your eyes. Run your hand across the shelf of books until you decide to stop. Remove whatever book your hand landed on and check it out to read it.
12. Introduce yourself to a stranger and make small talk.
13. Tour a neighborhood in your city that you never explore.
14. Smile and say hello to a stranger on the street. You might find you have something in common with them.
15. Don’t just sunbathe while at the lake or pool. Run and jump in the deep end with careless abandon. “Cannonball!”
16. Desk yoga.
17. Paint and sip wine at an art studio.
18. Visit a festival and eat at a food truck. Ever try bbq nachos? Curry chicken?
19. Eat your lunch away from your workplace at a park.
20. Try an adult coloring book.
21. Learn new skills by taking a webinar.
22. Grab some friends and sign everyone up to try an escape room challenge.
23. Experience a local seasonal activity like riding in a horse-drawn sled at Christmas, making s’mores with the Girl Scouts on National S’mores Day or grab a map and navigate a corn maze at a pumpkin patch.
24. Wear colored socks to work.
25. Pick up a new hobby that doesn’t involve using technology.
26. Create a date jar with ideas for date night fun. Draw a new idea from the jar this weekend.
27. Buy yourself flowers.
28. Travel anywhere you’ve never been before.
29. Throw a party that coincides with a random food holiday.
30. Follow a recipe for food you normally buy. No churn vanilla ice cream anyone?
31. Visit a tourist attraction or museum in your own city.
32. Pick fruit in an orchard.
33. Point the car west and just drive.
34. Stop and talk to your neighbors when you see them outside.
35. Always go to the movie theater? Try a dramatic play production instead at a local theater.
36. Lasertag. Paintball. Water balloon fights.
37. Grow vegetables or purchase them from a local farmer instead of buying them from a store.
38. Walk into a toy store and buy a toy to assemble yourself like a puzzle or box of Legos.
39. Try a different way of exercising or use a different exercise machine at the gym.
40. Watch wildlife anywhere but in your own neighborhood.
41. Take a new car for a test drive.
42. Walk your friend or neighbor’s dog.
43. Host a potluck or food contest amongst friends at your home. Who can make the tastiest beef jerky, mac-n-cheese, or pizza?
44. Let a local artist or friend sketch your portrait.
45. Get a henna tattoo.
46. Celebrate your city or town’s birthday. Take in the sites and buy cupcakes to celebrate.
47. Try a Pinterest DIY project.
48. Listen to a different radio station all day long.
49. Take a tour of the city from the air.
50. Do anything counter to your normal routine and when a friend of family member makes a suggestion to do something you’re about to reject, say “yes!”

Have an idea of something I should try? Challenge me by leaving your idea in the comments section below!