After I graduated college, I worked as a personal trainer at a chain gym for over four years. It was a cool job at first and a very rewarding profession, but I always knew there was something more for me in life. Toward the end of my reign, I felt like I was getting stuck in a cycle. I was moving laterally instead of forward. I knew it was time to move on.

It took me a while to pull the trigger and take my leap of faith, but I’m glad I finally got around to it. I left the gym on good terms with my clients and co-workers, and I started out building the project of my dreams. This project was going to change the world of health and fitness forever, at least I hoped it would. To be honest, I had no idea when or if I would start making money from my new venture.

As it turns out, I still haven’t made any money from it. But this hasn’t stopped me from living and working. So much has come from taking this leap of faith that has added to my life, and I am extremely grateful that I made the decision that I did. Even though my project took many twists and turns and caused many late nights of frustration, I can now see a clearer picture of what needs to be done to create the life I want.

And, in the process, I have been experiencing things I never thought I would be do. This, alone, has made all my efforts worthwhile.

Life Is an Experiment

All of life is an experiment. You try things–some work and some don’t. You learn from your experiences and move forward. This is life’s cycle, but it doesn’t have to move in a circle. The best experiments are one’s that lead you to the next step in your journey. You build upon your successes and improve upon your failures.

Thomas Edison always said that he didn’t consider his failed experiments failures at all; he simply saw them as a discovery of ways that did not work. We can all view life in this manner. We cannot be successful all the time if we want to grow. We must continue to push matters further and further and soak up all the wisdom gained from our experiences along the way.

15 Ways to Benefit From Experimentation: The Self Improvement Holy Grail

• Knowledge – Each experiment you make in life, whether it is a success or not, will provide you will new knowledge about what works and what doesn’t work. This allows you to approach your next step from a more advantageous position.

• Wisdom – By constantly going after new opportunities and seeking new ways to do things, you learn more about yourself. This self-knowledge comes in the form of a wisdom of how the world works around you and how others respond to your actions. This allows you to approach new situations from a higher ground.

• Success – Sometimes your experiments will be successful, often when you least expect it. The important thing to remember is you should never avoid a situation just because you think you won’t succeed. You just might surprise yourself.

• Self Confidence – Every bit of success can build your confidence. So when you do find success in your experiments, you will naturally increase your confidence level. But confidence can also come simply from trying new things. Doubt is a major enemy of confidence, and it stems from the unknown. Once you try something, the unknown is no longer an issue. You will feel some of your biggest confidence boosts just from trying something new that lies outside your comfort zone, regardless of the result.

• Momentum – Success builds confidence, and confidence leads to more success. When you experiment and keep tinkering until you meet success, it is important to feed off of that success. Keep rolling with it because momentum is one of the most powerful tools in the achiever’s toolbox.

• Clarity – Experimentation clears up the unknown. Many people hesitate to try new things because the result is unclear to them. It could be positive or it could be negative, but you won’t know until you try. Once you try, you gain clarity on the situation. If it’s a positive for you, dig deeper into it. If it’s negative, you can learn from it and try something else.

• Direction – Experimentation often gives you clues on the next steps you need to take to make things work better for you. Many times, these steps will be hidden until you go forward with the experiment. Sometimes the experiments will let you know you are heading completely in the wrong direction. Other times, they may indicate you are closer to your goals that you realize. No matter what your experiments tell you, it’s always better to go on a journey with a map than to wander down the path blindfolded.

• Purpose – Finding a purpose for your life and for your actions is one of the major pieces to the personal development puzzle. To get complete fulfillment out of your life’s journey, you must have a strong sense of purpose in the things you do. Experimentation can give you that purpose. It can open new doors for you and provide you with excitement and enjoyment in areas you would never have imagined would be so rewarding. Remember, you will never know until you try.

• Opportunity – Experimentation takes you down new roads. On these new roads you will often find new opportunities. Experiments can hint to you that you need a slight change of course. This change of course could be the change you’ve been seeking to take your life to the next level.

• New Ideas – Many of the greatest inventions were created by accident. There are many stories of famous inventors who were trying to create something completely different before stumbling upon the idea for their great inventions. Even if you aren’t trying to invent something, you can learn a lot from this. Great ideas for things to do with your life often appear where you least expect them. Keep exploring new areas, for you never know what you’ll discover.

• Innovation – Failed experiments drive innovation. As humans, we are not comfortable with things that are unfinished. So when we try something and fail, we are tempted to make things right. When you experiment, you learn ways that don’t work, but you also are driven to find ways that do. This, combined with the hints you learned from your new experiences, will lead you to innovation.

• Creation – And innovation leads to creation. Take your new ideas and experiment more. New experiences get the creative juices flowing. They throw new ideas in your head and place you in new situations. Roll with these creative juices and create something special!

• New Skills – It’s no secret that experimentation will lead you to discover new skills. It will also lead you to improve your old skills. By placing yourself in uncomfortable situations, you will find that you will be forced to grow your skill-set to solve the new problems you will face.

• New Life – New experiences mean new life. Each new situation that you place your self in is a situation that you would otherwise have never lived. By spending each day of your life doing the same things on a repetitive basis, you are missing out on these chances to grow your life. New life means new chances for success and happiness. For this reason, new life is often the main goal of self improvement.

• Expanded Comfort Zone – Perhaps the greatest self improvement that comes from experimentation is an expanded comfort zone. Each time you step out of your comfort zone, you are turning the unknown into the known. You are learning new things about life and about yourself. You are giving yourself new opportunities for growth. The more you step out of your comfort zone, the more you will be confident in taking those steps. This will create a great feeling that will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone more often.

So you can see that there is a lot to be gained from experimentation in life. I hope this has encouraged you to try something new. Keep an open mind and try to learn as much as you can from these new experiences. Learn about the situation, learn about yourself, and learn about life.

You are not here to merely exist. You are here to live and thrive. Begin living in new ways and allow yourself to soar to new levels of personal fulfillment.