Wonder Why Wednesday - Ch-ch-ch-changin'

Today's Wonder Why angle is about branching out and trying new stuff, and my question for you is, how do *you* get over your fear of new things and develop new parts of your life?

When you find that you're getting tired of the same old thing, however exciting that thing might be (even parachuters must get tired of parachuting all over the place and want a nice night on the couch now and again), do you actively *look* for something to inspire you to new things, or do you instead prefer to go with the flow and wait for inspiration to strike? A little of both, perhaps?

Alternatively, do you prefer the same old thing? The status quo isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if it makes you happy then more power to you... but what if inspiration *does* strike? Does being stuck make you less inclined to branch out into something else?

I've found that as I age (and oh god, here comes 35), I've changed how I feel about change. For most of my life, I preferred to just go with the flow, and if inspiration struck it was not often followed, because why? Then I decided to split up with my ex-husband, and I followed through with it, even though I knew it was going to suck and be hard and cost me a lot more than money and security... I'm still not sure where I got that strength from (and I'll give myself that pat on the back), but I think it was a combined effort of family and friends supporting my decision and helping me along that new path.

Ever since then (hard to believe it's only been 10 years, it seems like a lifetime ago), I've found that I'm much more inclined to try new things. Some things have been duds despite my best efforts (like knitting - sorry Mom, but it's all yours), but some things have generated "where have you been all my life" moments, like sewing, and lately, cooking more than my usual pat meals (another blog for another day). My inspiration has been varied though; some things I set out to learn, and somethings kind of slapped me in the face, but in either case my hesitation to go in a new direction is less and less each time. I still don't like change being forced upon me (somewhere my mother is nodding), but I'm much less stressed out by trying new stuff.

The super-upside to all this boldness is my daughter, who is very inclined to try new things from new food to making new friends... and I truly wonder if she would be so outgoing if I had stayed put all those years ago. It's a question for the ages.