The fear of new experiences comes naturally to most people, and it can make progress in life very uncomfortable. Overcoming this fear is just as difficult as getting rid of any other fear, such as the fear of failure or heights, etc. However, if you find yourself in this chaos, know that you are not alone, and it is a very common problem found in human nature. 

There are a lot of reasons why new experiences are most likely to trigger distress in people, but the one reason that overrules all others is that humans like whatever has been around for a longer period of time. 

According to a study, “Longer is better”, two groups of people were shown the same painting. One group was told it was painted in 1905 and the other that it was painted in 2005. The first group liked the painting better and found it more pleasing than the 2005 group, which proved people react better to older experiences. 

However, it is obviously not just one reason that makes us fear new experiences. Here is a list of 6 reasons why you might not be ready to accept any change in your life. 

• Uncertainty: 

It is not unknown that new experiences create confusion and bring a lot of uncertainty with them. We never know what might hit us next, which gives a sense of insecurity to people. Change forces people to get out of their comfort zone, which of course, blurs clarity. 

According to neuroscience, our brains register uncertainty very much like an error during coding, for example. It needs to be corrected for us to easily move on. 

• Associated losses: 

Whenever we talk about new experiences, the first thing that comes to mind is what you may have to give up. Change isn’t bad, but you always have to give up something from your routine to move forward. This fear of losing something close to your heart, be it very nominal, is what makes the mere thought of change so unpleasant for most people.

Many times, the aversion to associated losses also hinders our ability to judge and produce logic. A great example of this theory is the horse race gamblers. They even place their bets on the horses with 10:1 odds at the last race as they face the fear of loss. They would never make such choices in the first races because they have no realization of loss at that moment.

• Change means more work:

We are all very relaxed in our routines; we know what needs to be done and when but this is not the case with new practices. They bring their own challenges and with them, which takes up a lot of our time to only understand them. 

Change means doing tasks you have never done in your life. It means unanticipated obstacles, a series of trial and error, and a lot of learning. People who fear pushing their work limits always face this challenge and fear incorporating new practices in their everyday routine. 

• Lack of self-confidence

Many a time, people are scared of change because they doubt their ability to perform well in the new setting. They have made their peace with their already existing practices and don’t want to hinder their excellent performances because they know they are bound to make errors in the first few attempts of the new practice. They keep telling themselves monotonous things like “I will look stupid” or “It will sideline my skills” – even though it is mostly not like this when it comes to new experiences.

You never look stupid; you look smarter, in fact. For example, when you climb a mountain for the first time, no matter how much you doubted yourself in the beginning, you feel a sense of achievement when you reach the peak and it wouldn’t be wrong to call it one of the best feelings you will ever have. 

Suggestions to overcome the fear of new experiences

Now that we have established the reasons, here are some suggestions that will help you get rid of these reasons. 

• Don’t feel ashamed of being vulnerable. You are a human being, and it is completely okay to open up to another human being;
• Create a line of action and plan beforehand;
• Gather as much information as possible to best predict your challenges;
• Hope for the best but make sure you are well-equipped for the worst.

We hope this article helps you navigate through your fear of new experiences! Join now for free for more related content!