We love patterns. We love predictability. It’s a human trait; we simply love to know what’s coming next. But overly conventional life patterns can lead to a life lacking fulfillment, without excitement, and worst of all, one that causes regret. In my next few installments of my blog, I hope to show you why we should break free of convention and embrace the novel.
First, what is conventional? What is novel? I define conventional as relating to an action, object, idea, or process that is continued out by many people over many years; an idea where most of us know what is next, and what the end result is. Conventionalism is a process through which we succumb to the same patterns that we’ve been pursuing all of our lives. Conventionalism is a path through which we, sometimes blindly, follow the paths of others under the assumption that if others do it, it must be good. Novelty is different; novelty is exciting. Novelty is, in simple words, something that we come up with and follow ourselves. An idea, path or process, which we alone have the claims to, which we alone follow, and where we explore the unknown. I am of the opinion that one cannot truly live in the moment without pursuing novelty as well as conventionalism.
Many of us succumb to conventionality because we hate the thought of messing up. We view conventionalism as a safe path where we cannot fail, yet a more false pretense does not exist. Conventionalism can often lead to failure, especially when context requires a novelty. For example, conventional Indian wedding practices are to have giant gatherings with thousands of people, sometimes for over a week. Following this practice in the era of COVID can lead to disastrous results, with the potential for death. Novelty here is important; my family recently had a wedding over zoom, and although we were in our own houses, not sharing the same food or listening to the same music, we were still connected; the wedding was still a success. This is a simple example of how novelty and innovation in the face of unusual contexts often provides better, more beautiful solutions to problems. While as humans, we are afraid to take risks to pursue a novel path, they are often necessary and important in order to facilitate success in unusual circumstances.
While conventionalism is sometimes important, it is just as important to look for ways in which we can do things differently. In this way, we can find better, more beautiful solutions to the problems in our lives. Novelty is not only important in our own individual lives, but also in the collective efforts of teams solving problems, no matter their scale. In my next installment, I will discuss the implications and necessity of novelty in the face of challenges. Before then, I hope you can find one area of your life for which you can try something new or explore a new passion or idea.