I couldn’t possibly be good at “x”, so I won’t even try.

I’m no good at doing “x”, so don’t count on me.

Have you ever uttered these words about yourself? Like most people, we tend to stay away from things we believe that we’re not good at. Usually, this behavior  does not hurt us. Heck, this mindset can actually make us focus our attention on the things we are good at. And that’s a really productive way of living our lives. But sometimes, for us to grow, we need to intentionally disrupt ourselves.

What do I mean when I talk about “disrupting yourself”? This entails breaking the pattern of what you consider to be normal in your life. Although this can be fun, the real intention of disrupting yourself is to challenge the way you’ve thought of and done things in your life. This way, you experience how things can be different.

Doing something differently will yield different results. Makes sense, right? If you want to bring in something new into your life, you don’t need to do something drastic. Actually, you can start with tiny, calibrated disruptions, just beyond your comfort zone.

When we are so comfortable with eating at the same restaurants, hanging out with the same friends, and doing the same things during the weekends, we don’t experience anything new. Not really. And if we don’t experience new things, we miss out on the abundance that life offers. So, how do we get more out of life by disrupting ourselves? Here are just a few ways.

• Change up the way you do something in your life. We tend to stick to things that we have been accustomed to in our lives. But think about the things you do in your daily life. What can be different? If you spend every weekend the same way, how about doing something differently one weekend a month? You can start with changing small details, like going to a new restaurant or exploring a new cuisine. Once you’ve done that a few times, you can move on to slightly bigger things.

• Turn one “I can’t” to “Let me try”. For example, if you are terrified of getting up in front of strangers, then round up a group of your friends and get yourself over to an open mic night. Don’t be afraid. You’ve got your support system with you. And, you never know, you may unearth a hidden talent. The key difference here is challenging something you believe about yourself.

• Learn something that’s completely new to you. It’s not too late to learn to play an instrument, to learn a new language, or learn how to code. Whatever it is that you may be curious about, explore it. I promise, you will be amazed at yourself.

The point of disrupting yourself is to develop your openness, and embark on new experiences. Remember when you were a child and you explored endlessly? Turn on that sense of curiosity once again!

Opening up to new experiences empowers you to step out of that cage made up of your old beliefs and prejudices about yourself and life. That’s what it’s really about: changing and challenging the way you see yourself. Also, new experiences almost always open doors to meeting new people. New people inevitably lead to new opportunities. And if you make it a habit to bring in newness into your life every now and then, your life will expand. By doing so, you are laying the groundwork for your own growth.

So, are you ready to change it up?