In this day and age, it’s easy to feel like you’ve seen it all. Thanks to the 24-hour news cycle and having access to unlimited information online, almost nothing can shock us anymore. But if someone is creative enough, they might still be able to get a reaction out of you. And when you finally get to experience that feeling of surprise, it will probably be extremely refreshing.
According to Greater Good Magazine, humans actually need some surprises in their lives. Experiencing them activates the dopamine system in our brains, allowing us to focus our attention and inspiring us to see the situation from a new perspective.
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In their book Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected, Tania Luna and Leeann Renninger break down the four stages of our surprise response. These include freeze, find, shift, and share.
First, we stop in our tracks when we see a surprise; then, we try to understand what’s going on. Next, we begin to shift our perspective, and finally, we feel pulled to share the surprise with others.
#7 Turned Around To Return The Child Safely, Cussed The Parents Out For Leaving The Baby Alone, Then Hopped Back In The Car
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If you’re wondering how to invite more surprise and wonder into your life, Luna and Renninger have some tips. First, you have to “reframe vulnerability as openness and take deliberate steps to be more vulnerable.”
While many people tend to stay closed off and avoid vulnerability, that makes it impossible to ever be caught off guard and surprised. But once you learn how to view that openness in a positive light, you’ll be able to experience all of the joy that can come along with wonderful surprises.
Another way to make sure you’re being surprised more often is by participating in activities where you have no idea what the outcome will be. Don’t be scared to take risks. Ask your boss for that raise, ask out the neighbor you’ve been crushing on for months, and don’t be scared to enter that competition. You really never know what could happen. And while surprises won’t always be good, it’s worth it to take those risks. It’s a lot better than being bored!
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If you’re having a hard time finding the courage to start branching out and taking big risks, Luna and Renninger recommend making a “struggle sandwich.” This is when you sprinkle small risks that are more likely to have a positive outcome in between the bigger, scarier risks. This way, you’ll experience little confidence boosts more frequently, and the surprises that don’t pan out won’t feel as devastating. Over time, you’ll build resilience, and you’ll start to feel less afraid of taking huge risks.
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#17 Used His Girlfriend As A Step And Tunnelled Into A Lion Enclosure
Most of us lost a lot of our childlike curiosity and wonder after we became adults, but we urge you to channel that part of you once again, pandas. Walk down that street near your home that you’ve never passed through before. Ask your colleagues questions about their hobbies that you know nothing about. Pick up a book that you would have never thought to read before. Surprises aren’t always going to find us; sometimes we have to seek them out.
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