Out With The Old And In With The New

You must dare to jump into the labyrinth of your wildest dreams.

The beginning of the New Year is the best time to get out there into the big wide world and try something new. I always thought that ‘trying something new’ meant that I needed to find the time to take on a new hobby, or drastically change my career path. I would always resist the idea of it, and often feared that trying something new was far too time consuming and expensive. I preferred to stay in my comfort zone, thriving off a routine, and finding myself perfectly happy doing the same things daily. Recently I realised that trying something new doesn’t mean that you need to give up on your passions, but can actually be as simple as trying a new food or a new method of transport.

I then began to make a bucket list of new things I’d like to try. I learnt some new skills in events management and producing, which inspired me to produce my own events in the future. I began wearing a style of clothing that I don’t normally wear and found myself changing my style completely.

I decided one morning to have herbal teas instead of earl grey – best decision I’ve ever made!

I aimed to visit new towns and cities and have made some wonderful memories in these places. I began to try out some new forms of exercise, including; cycling, zumba and yoga. I decided that it was time for me to try swimming again for the first time since aged 10 and I loved it (and also learned to swim, conquering my fear of the water).

This achievement has made me want to continue adding new ideas to my list, and I can’t wait to try them all out very soon!

Grace’s top tip: Have a vision session and make a list of new things you can try this year.

The list of new things can be super simple things that can be done even on January’s tight budget; such as:

• Learn to say a few phrases in a new language
• Travel in a new way (walk, bike, scooter, etc.)
• Visit a new place in your town/city that you’ve not been to before
• Listen to a genre of music that you wouldn’t normally listen to
• Start a blog/diary/journal/scrapbook to write your daily thoughts in
• Visit your local library and borrow some books that you normally wouldn’t read
• Ask someone you know to tell them about their job/hobbies/etc.
• Learn a new skill (cooking, gardening, sewing, etc.)
• Speak to someone you don’t normally speak to
• Research a random topic that interests you
• Take more photographs
• Check out what events are happening in your town/city and attend one that you normally wouldn’t attend
• Write a story/poem/song/article
• Learn a new word/listen to a new song every day

It’s incredible how such a small and simple change can make such a big and positive difference to your life, and can really spice up your daily routines. I hope that you feel inspired to try some new things this year! Happy New Year!

Written by Grace Smith.

Want to write a guest blog? The themes for 2017 have been released, continuing with ‘Injustices’ in February. Send your blog to bradley@beatfreeks.com, or contact for more information.