Joy May Be Just One New Experience Away
On the last full day of my Camino trip this past June, a few of us took the metro into Porto to see a famous bookstore, Livraria Lello. It's often linked to J.K. Rowling, who lived and taught English in Porto, and is said to have inspired the Hogwarts staircases, though Rowling has said she never visited.
Unfortunately, it was closed.
So we wandered. We found an outdoor café for lunch and learned it was St. John's Day, when Porto celebrates the summer solstice all night long. The custom? Bonking each other on the head with plastic hammers for good luck.
Once we heard that, we were all in. We bought our hammers and started bonking, strangers and friends alike, laughing so hard we could barely stand.
That night I wrote in my journal: You're never too old to play.
None of that was on the itinerary. It might be my favorite memory of the whole trip.
Newness is good for us, at any age
It turns out there's research behind that feeling.
In a study from Brandeis University shared this spring, 180 people between the ages of 18 and 90 wore activity rings and used a location app for three weeks, checking in on their mood four times a day. On days with more variety than usual, like new places or new activities, people felt better.
And here's the part I love: the mood boost was just as strong for older adults as it was for people in their twenties.
As one of the researchers put it, "variety is the spice of life."
The team also looked at brain scans and found that new places and new activities were linked to brain areas involved in attention, motivation and reward. They're careful to say this doesn't prove cause and effect. But it fits an earlier study in Nature Neuroscience, which tracked people's locations for months and found the same pattern: on days when people explored more varied places, they felt more positive.
New experiences don't have to be big ones. A new route. A new café. A new hobby.
Saying yes
On a flight to Amsterdam, I sat next to a retired physician. Before she retired, she told herself she needed a hobby first, so she took up knitting. She was on her way to Norway to meet a group of nine knitters she'd only known online.
I loved that. She didn't wait for life to hand her something new. She went looking for it.
When I look back at my own trip highlights, so many of them start the same way: I said yes. Yes to walking with a group I didn't fully know yet. Yes to a bus tour I wasn't sure about, which turned out to be wonderful. Yes to a silly celebration in the street.
Some of my favorite moments came from unexpected places to stop: a food truck in the woods, a little café under grapevines, a local restaurant we stumbled into.
That's living well through the world. Not checking off sights, but staying curious and open to what shows up.
Small ways to add newness this week
You don't need a plane ticket to get the benefit. As I shared in What a Little Time Outside Can Lead To, it's the moments that count, not the minutes. Pick one:
Take a new route. Walk, drive or bike a different way to somewhere familiar, and notice what you've been missing.
Try one new food. A dish you've never cooked, or a cuisine you've never tasted.
Visit a place you've meant to go. A museum, a park, a neighborhood, a farmers market.
Be a beginner. Sign up for a class, borrow a library book on something new, or ask someone to teach you their hobby.
Join in. Say yes to the local festival, the community event, the invitation you'd usually decline.
Your turn this week
Choose one new thing to try this week, big or small. Then notice how you feel that day.
Curious? Lighter? A little more awake to the world?
Joy may be just one new experience away.
Come along
If you'd like more small, curious ways to live well through the world, join my email list.
And if you're ready for something truly new, come with us to Slovenia, June 10–20, 2027. The Art of Living Well is a journey of active exploration, culture and connection, co-led with Heather Miller of Acacia Tree Travels. A $500 deposit holds your spot, and friends are welcome to come along. Early-bird pricing of $4,500 ends October 31. Learn more about Slovenia.
Sources
Brandeis University. (2026, May 5). New experiences in daily routine might improve brain health, study finds. brandeis.edu/stories/2026/may/wearables-study.html
Heller, A. S., Shi, T. C., Ezie, C. E. C., et al. (2020). Association between real-world experiential diversity and positive affect relates to hippocampal–striatal functional connectivity. Nature Neuroscience, 23, 800–804. doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-0636-4