For most of us, we were told that a "stable life" should be our goal. Grow up, get an education, find a job, and provide a stable income for your family.
"Find stability."
"Go get a stable job."
"They just need a little stability in their life."
I remember hearing it all from people who I respect and admire. Stability is not necessarily a bad thing, but I contend that most of us are too comfortable. Always taking the same route to work, eating at the same restaurants, getting our news from the same source. We are rock-solid stable and stale as communion bread.
New research from Yale tells us that too much stability can hinder our ability to learn. Uncertainty can be scary, but it also kickstarts our brains learning processes, forcing it to respond to unknown stimuli. The reverse is also true: deciding we don't need to learn anymore can create stagnation and actually entrench bad habits into our brain.
It may seem scary to seek out instability, but it's supposed to. And hey, you might even learn something.
Action
Take a drive without your GPS and see what you find.
Question
When is the last time you ate something you couldn't pronounce?
Quote
"Never think that lack of variability is stability. Don't confuse lack of volatility with stability, ever. " - Nassim Nicholas Taleb