Embrace Your Inner Scientist: Using Experimentation to Enhance Your Life

Do you consider yourself a scientist?

Maybe you're not a whatever-ologist and maybe you've never worked in a research lab, but I want to make the case for approaching life like a scientist because a little experimentation can go a long way in enhancing your life.

Real scientists don't just say "I know what's going to happen." Instead, they use the scientific method to empirically test out their theories. The scientific method is all about testing a hypothesis or prediction by gathering data. They design experiments, run them, and see what happens. Then, they draw conclusions based on their data, not their hunches or assumptions. 

I believe we can - and should - do the same thing in our lives. That's why I implore you to embrace an experimental mindset. 

An Experimental Mindset 

So what, exactly, is an experimental mindset? It's the recognition that we're not that great at predicting things, the belief that direct experience is the most effective and reliable teacher, and a willingness to try things out. 

According to Oxford, experimentation is the "action or process of trying out new ideas, methods, or activities." What a great way to go through life!

Every time you try something new, you gather data in the form of your direct experience. Do it repeatedly and you may start to see a pattern emerge, allowing you to draw conclusions...and the conclusions may surprise you. 

As an intern at Children's Mercy Hospital way back when, I was incredibly excited about my rotation in Consultation/Liaison services. These services involved visiting the various medical floors, at the request of other medical team members, to provide psychological input - assessment or evaluation, interventions, or recommendations. I just KNEW I was going to love being on the hospital floors and working in integrated medical teams. 

Except that I didn't. 

What I "knew" was really just a prediction and, thankfully, one I was forced to test out by my training program. The several months I spent doing C/L weren't my favorite. I found out, through my direct experience, that I don't love the one-and-done interactions of consults. I prefer the ongoing relationship aspect of therapy. I also didn't like the unpredictability of consult requests coming through, sometimes just minutes before I was planning to pack up and head home. 

In short, it wasn't my jam, but I wouldn't have know without experiencing it.

Who Do You Trust? 

Our minds are designed to make predictions about what's going to happen. They recognize patterns, operate on assumptions, and draw conclusions based on those patterns and assumptions. In other words, our minds offer their best, albeit biased, guesses about what the future holds. 

Our minds tend to skew negative, so those predictions and assumptions aren't generally the most optimistic, let alone accurate. They are the product of short-cuts our minds take in processing information and the creative license they take to fill in gaps and keep us safe.

One of those short-cuts and creative liberties is the confirmation bias.

Our minds actually filter out a lot of information, completely disregarding it as though it didn't even exist. Think of a teenager who is nodding and pretending to listen to their parents' lecture, only really tuning in when they hear "Are you even listening?" Everything else is in one ear and out the other. Our minds do the same thing, filtering out information that doesn't fit with our beliefs or assumptions or stuff that otherwise seems irrelevant. 

Our minds jump to conclusions, and we tend to take them at their word...even though their hit rate is actually pretty low. 

How many times have you been convinced that something was going to be awful only to find yourself pleasantly surprised? 

We're about as good at predicting how we're going to feel (called affective forecasting) as my app weather app is at predicting the weather (0% chance of rain today, huh? Then why am I getting wet on my walk home?).

It's not just predicting how we're going to feel, either. We're pretty off-base when it comes to anticipating how events are going to unfold, what impact something will have on us, and what we're actually capable of.

Our minds lie to us all the time.

If I had a friend who told me as many factually untrue or categorically unhelpful things as my mind, let's just say I would take everything that friend said with a grain of salt...if we even stayed friends. 

Yet, we fall for our mind's propaganda all the time. 

Rather than trusting what we think, we should trust what we experience. 

Trust your five senses - what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel - and perhaps your emotions (though there are times when our emotions aren't to be trusted). 

That brings us back to experimentation. 

Experimentation

Several years ago when I was first starting to dabble in life design and intentional experimentation, I decided to do 30 days without watching TV. I didn't really have a hypothesis I was testing. Rather, it was more of a curiosity. Could I do it (I was a big TV watcher)? And if so, what would it be like? 

After 30 days, I learned two things. One, yes, I can go without watching TV, which means I can start and stop habits. And two, my sleep improved, which was a surprise to me. I've never had a TV in my bedroom, so I didn't connect those two dots. Still, my direct experience - my data - clearly showed that I got better, more consistent sleep when TV wasn't a part of my routine. Interesting. 

In the years since then, I find myself running experiments all the time. Some are lifestyle:

• What would intermittent fasting feel like in my body? (Turns out, it works well for me.)
• What would working out with a trainer do for me? (I committed to 10 sessions...and was hooked. Strength is noticeably increasing, and I dread working out a whole lot less.)
• What will happen if I implement a screen curfew? (I sleep better.)

Some are relational:

• What difference will it make if I text people as soon as I think of them, for no reason other than I''m thinking of them? (So far, I feel more connected and less lonely.)
• What happens if I'm more vulnerable? (I feel super uncomfortable, but also strangely more confident, and there's less second-guessing, overanalyzing, or unnecessary strife.)

Some are business:

• Can ChatGPT write better cold email copy than I can? (Jury's still out as both of our response rates are abysmal.)
• Will allowing my patients to schedule online make things easier or harder? (Easier, for sure, in the sense of cutting down on back-and-forth emails. Added bonus? It's a lot easier to stick with my scheduling boundaries and work my desired hours.)

I experiment with leisure, in the kitchen, with professional identity, and methods for styling curly hair. You name it. If it can be tested or modified or explored, it's fair game. 

The Benefits of an Experimental Mindset

I am 100% sold on the value of an experimental mindset, based on my own - you guessed it - direct experience. It's an approach to life that turns the pressure down and feels more forgiving and playful. 

Approaching a change as an experiment makes it feel more doable. There's less fear of failure because you can't fail an experiment. You simply gather data, course correct based on those data, and run a new experiment.

It also takes down the fear of change.

For example, a year ago, I decided to switch my psychology practice to a fully virtual one. I was pretty sure that would be a good move for me, but I was scared. What if I regret it? What if I lose a lot of patients? What if I end up being a hermit and never leaving my house? All of the what ifs, which are just code for worry. I knew that, but it was still hard to make the leap.

Thinking of it as an experiment - I'll try this for 6 months then reassess - made it feel more tenable. It was a change I was more willing to embrace, so that mindset was helpful and effective because it kept me from being stuck. I ran the experiment, and six months later, gave up my office because I don't see going back.

Experimenting - trying something out knowing that you are not committing to it forever or strictly invested in a particular outcome - can be freeing. It offers more space to try things. It offers more protection when things don't turn out well. You didn't fail. You didn't make a mistake. You ran an experiment, gathered your data, and learned something valuable. 

Your Challenge

My challenge to you, dear friend, is to approach life like a scientist. Embrace an experimental mindset and start dabbling with experimentation. 

To jumpstart things, ask yourself these questions:

• What experiments can you test out?
• Where can you start to challenge your mind's assumptions?
• Where can you start to really listen to and trust your experience rather than your thoughts? 

Try it out, see what happens, and decide if it's worth continuing. What do you have to lose?

Want a little more inspiration? Check out this podcast episode from Dr. April and my TEDx talk.

"What works for one artist doesn't necessarily work for another - try anything and everything and go with what works for you."

- Paul Dixon

Written by Dr. Ashley Smith

Peak Mind Co-founder