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When faced with situations outside our bubble we feel increased anxiety and pressure. And this uncertainty causes us to respond more strongly to negative experiences.

So, when we do finally get outside of our bubble and something does go wrong, that moment stays with us in a way that a positive one doesn’t. It’s so much easier for us to just confirm our beliefs that we know best and return to the safety of the known.

But the longer we give in to these fears, the smaller our comfort zone becomes. And the less likely we are to try new things and push our boundaries.

Being curious and actively engaging with the unknown and unfamiliar doesn’t just make us smarter, it actually makes us better equipped to handle life.

In one study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2002,researchers predicted that high novelty-seeking (or curious) toddlers would have higher IQs as older children than their less curious counterparts. Almost 2000 children were observed at 3 years old and then 8 years later, their cognitive abilities were measured to see if there was any correlation between the two. In the end, the study showed that those children who showed more curiosity as a child averaged 12 points higher on their IQ scores.

Not only that, but a broad curiosity also contributes to our overall level of happiness. In his book, Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert explains that, while we might think we know what will make us happy in the future, we are actually less likely to find joy as a result of a planned pursuit than by simply stumbling upon it.

Staying within our bubble may keep us safe from anxiety, but discovering some profound human truth when we least expect it is what makes life magical.

Take it all in until it oozes out of you

For life to be worth living — for us to be happy and creative and productive and find meaning in how we spend the hours we have—we need to experience all aspects of it.

It’s only through divergent experiences and thoughts that we can create new and interesting art and ideas.

Swedish writer Dorothe Nors explains how, through experiencing everything life has to offer, we’re able to become the kinds of artists and people that create with meaning:

“All human beings have these moments when we feel this outpouring, our ‘soul volume,’ being pushed out from us like toothpaste from a tube. Everyone feels this, but artists try to capture the feeling through art, contain it within some permanent form of expression. And when I read a good text or see a good movie or enjoy a good piece of art — it is the humanity, this poured-out human experience, that I detect.”

Great art oozes with humanity. It’s the culmination of vast experiences that can no longer be contained. When you open your mind to everything, especially those events and ideas outside your bubble, you fill your mind with what resonates with the world. You become a vessel for human truths.

And there’s no better way to fill yourself to the brim than to engage with those people who are already going to burst.

Every conversation is a chance to break down the walls of our comfort castle. To find ways to fill our own lives with the experiences of others and grow our perspective, curiosity, and overall happiness.

It’s okay to have a bubble. Hell, for most of us it’s the only way we know how to live.

But once in a while we need to step outside, to look for those things beyond the usual that will enlighten us, inspire us, and bring us joy. Every single day we’re shown opportunities to step beyond our bubble and experience life to the fullest until we can’t help but let it ooze out of us and into everything we do.

Everything you could ever imagine is out there somewhere. You just have to open your eyes and look for it.