Today I Choose to be Experimental – How to be Experimental

Understanding How to Be Experimental

I wish I could tell you that my most experimental moment led to instant brilliance, but truthfully? It was more of a crash-and-burn. It was during one of my early attempts at Dutch pour painting. I’d seen these gorgeous, flowing canvases on YouTube and thought, how hard could it be? I set myself up in the backyard with all the “right” supplies, had this vision of creating an elegant ocean wave. Instead, what I got looked like a mud puddle after a thunderstorm, and my hair ended up in the paint on the canvas.

That messy moment taught me something research from the Harvard Center for Adult Development confirms: women who remain experimental in their later years report 47% higher life satisfaction. But here’s what the studies don’t tell you—being experimental isn’t about instant success. It’s about being willing to fail spectacularly and laugh about it.

The hardest part of learning how to be experimental isn’t the actual trying. It’s wrestling with our perfectionism, that voice that wants us to skip the ugly learning curve and go straight to masterpiece. Sound familiar?

Why We Stop Experimenting (And Why That’s a Problem)

Most of us were once natural experimenters. As children, we tried everything—finger painting with pudding, building impossible structures with blocks, mixing weird concoctions in the kitchen. Then somewhere along the way, we learned that mistakes were embarrassing, that we should have things figured out, that trying and failing was somehow shameful.

But neuroscience research shows our brains actually thrive on novelty and challenge, especially as we age. When we experiment, we create new neural pathways, improve cognitive flexibility, and boost creativity. Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman from the Center for BrainHealth notes that novelty-seeking activities can literally help our brains stay younger.

Just like my shoulders tensing up over that paint disaster, our bodies often hold the fear of trying something new. We get stuck in familiar patterns because they feel safe, even when they leave us feeling stagnant.

The Real Reason Experimentation Feels So Hard

Being experimental challenges three deep-seated fears most of us carry:

Fear of Looking Foolish: We worry about what others will think if we fail publicly. This fear intensifies with age—somehow we think we should “know better” by now.

Fear of Wasted Time: We convince ourselves that trying something new is frivolous, that we should focus on what we already do well.

Fear of Success: Surprisingly, this one’s huge. If we discover we’re good at something new, we might feel pressure to pursue it, which could disrupt our established lives.

Remember my mud-puddle painting? All three fears showed up. I was mortified by the mess, frustrated about the “wasted” afternoon, and secretly worried that if I actually got good at this, I’d feel obligated to become a “real artist.”

How to Cultivate an Experimental Mindset

Start with Micro-Experiments: You don’t need to quit your job and join the circus. Try a new coffee shop, take a different route to work, or attempt a recipe you’ve never made. Small experiments build your tolerance for uncertainty without overwhelming your system.

Embrace the Learning Curve: Every expert was once a disaster. The painting that looked like a thunderstorm puddle? That was just step one. The next one was slightly better, and eventually, I created pieces I was proud to display. Progress isn’t linear—it’s messy.

Change Your Definition of Success: Instead of measuring success by outcome, measure it by courage. Did you try something that scared you a little? Success. Did you learn something new about yourself? Double success. Did you laugh at your mistakes instead of beating yourself up? Triple success.

Find Your Experimental Sweet Spot: Some people thrive on big, dramatic changes. Others prefer gentle exploration. There’s no right way to be experimental—only your way. Maybe you’re someone who tries new restaurants, while your friend experiments with bold fashion choices. Both count.

Creating Space for Safe Experimentation

Building an experimental life requires creating conditions where it’s safe to fail. This might mean:

Setting aside dedicated “play time” where the only goal is exploration. Surrounding yourself with people who celebrate attempts, not just achievements. Having a sense of humor about inevitable mishaps—like paint-covered hair and mud-puddle masterpieces.

It also means recognizing that experimentation often feels uncomfortable in your body before it feels exciting. Those tense shoulders, that knotted stomach—they’re not signs you should stop. They’re signs you’re growing.

The Unexpected Gifts of an Experimental Life

When you commit to staying experimental, something magical happens. You stop asking “What if I fail?” and start asking “What if this is amazing?” You develop resilience because you’ve practiced bouncing back from small failures. You become more interesting to yourself and others because you’re constantly learning and growing.

Most importantly, you model for other women—and younger generations—that it’s never too late to try something new. Every time you experiment, you give others permission to do the same.

Being experimental doesn’t mean you have to become someone completely different. It means staying curious about who you might become. It means accepting the mess, the mud puddles, the spit-covered canvases. Because hidden inside those disasters is the freedom to play, to learn, and to surprise yourself.

Today, choose to be experimental. Start small if you need to, but start somewhere. Your future self—the one who’s learned to paint, or dance, or speak Italian, or whatever calls to you—is waiting.