HOW TO HAVE MORE EXCITEMENT WITHOUT BEING A DAREDEVIL

HOW TO HAVE MORE EXCITEMENT WITHOUT BEING A DAREDEVIL 

Getting the Need for Variety Met Without Risking Your Life

A few years ago, I was a USA Licensed Amateur Cyclist. One Saturday team training ride, I was almost killed by an oncoming car. That particular day, the team decided to ride the Shootout, a Tucson hallmark group ride. My assignment for the day was to lead out my teammates in a break way for a sprint finish. There were several other teams and the peloton consumed an entire lane of traffic. As we approached the sprint, I moved left into the oncoming lane of traffic in order to pass the big group of riders.
 
Off in the distance, I saw a white Chevy Malibu heading directly in my path. I didn’t wince and peddled faster leading my teammates. The oncoming car went into a ditch, in order to prevent a head-on collision with me. I felt the rush of adrenaline coursing through my veins and the risk seemed worth it when we won the sprint.
 
If you’re not quite the daredevil I was, you might be saying to yourself, how stupid and irresponsible. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Or, maybe you can fully relate to my story and think of your own high-stakes experiences.

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THE NEED FOR UNCERTAINTY AND THE WAYS IN WHICH WE MEET THAT NEED

The Six Human Needs of Psychology tells us that we have a need for, Certainty, Variety, Significance, Love/Connection, Growth, and Contribution.
 
Our bodies, our minds, our emotional well-being all require uncertainty, exercise, suspense, and surprises. More than likely you’ve heard the expression “variety is the spice of life.” This old saying is very true. Without variety, life can become boring and not much fun.

We all have different ways of meeting our need for variety. How we experience, adventure, excitement, exploration, and connecting with everything, and ourselves, varies from person to person.
 
The need for variety can align with, or conflict with, our other human needs. My need for uncertainty that day, put me in a blind state of oblivion to the consequences of having a head-on collision with an automobile.
 
Someone else might meet their need for variety in taking a walk on a path that they have never been on before.

As we experience different periods of life, the way in which we meet our needs, or our “vehicles,” dramatically change. For example, a teenage boy’s need for variety is much different than a sixty-year-old man’s need for variety.
 
When do you know it’s time to upgrade your vehicle for meeting uncertainty? When the way in which you meet the need and/or the conflicts with other needs. For example, in my racing days, my need for variety was much more extreme. My training regimens and race schedule became very addictive. I chose risky behaviors that jeopardized my health and conflicted with my need for security.

Addiction is the result of meeting three human needs in not so beneficial ways

HOW TO HAVE EXCITEMENT WITHOUT BEING A DAREDEVIL

Spend some to reflecting on how you meet your need for uncertainty. How do you know when it’s time to re-evaluate? When you experience inner turmoil resulting from your needs conflicting with each other.
 
1. What has to happen to feel variety, excitement, creativity, freedom?
What do you currently do to meet this need? Are you bored, depressed with your life? Or do you need to an extreme sport to meet this need?
 
2. What are new ways that you can meet the need for uncertainty?
Acquiring new vehicles will enable you to make it easier to meet the need for uncertainty, and you’ll dramatically change your life.