My Husband Says We Should Try Everything Twice
I thought everything was worth one try, but I think he might be on to something…
The first try of something gets you out of your comfort zone and helps you understand what you are getting yourself into. Before you try something, you don’t even know what to expect — but here’s a hint: you should definitely try it!
For example, that beautiful exotic food that you were offered that seems so far out of your comfort zone? Try it! The first bite helps you understand the kind of flavor (is it sweet, sour, salty?) as well as the texture (crunchy, chewy, or soft?), but that one bite isn’t nearly enough for you to really understand the dish. So, you take another.
The second bite tells you so much more. Yes, it is salty but it has a buttery sweet flavor too and although the first bite was chewy, the texture is actually pretty soft. Sometimes, you won’t like the first bite at all! It could be because you realize the food you were trying was escargot and you can’t get the image of little garden snails out of your head, or it could just be that your taste-buds weren’t expecting that initial flavor.
But the second and third bites are absolutely delicious! And, yes, I do include escargot in the delicious category, as unappetizing as they may sound.
Now, I would have told you to try everything at least once. It’s important to be open to try new things and new experiences. In my opinion, you should especially try those things that scare you the most. Being open to new experiences and trying those things that scare you (like *safely* jumping off a bridge), help you grow the most.
To me, trying something at least once gives you a taste of the experience and you can then make the decision if it is worth trying again — or not! But, my husband has started to change my mind; I think maybe we really should try everything twice.
My Husband’s Wisdom
My husband’s wisdom on this matter came after a very long layover we had in a Russian airport. We couldn’t leave the terminal and, since we were in Russia, we wanted to try some local cuisine. So, we ordered some cold borscht. If you’ve ever tried borscht, you know that it is unique, and I’d guess acquired taste. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you don’t try it for the first time in a Russian airport lounge!
The first bite of the brightly colored cold soup was REVOLTING! So was the second. After the third bite, I proclaimed, “I do not like borscht!”
But my husband said this was our first and only time ever trying it, so I couldn’t write it off as a terrible food just yet. He said that we had to give it at least a second chance — a chance for it to be prepared better, have better ingredients, or at least where we hadn’t been traveling for over 24 hours prior to tasting it.
I’m not convinced that I’m going to ever like borscht, but I am convinced that it deserves another try.
“A thing cannot be written off until it has been tried in its purest form.” -Kyle Deeley-Hardgrave (my husband)
For food, that means having it prepared by someone who really cares about the dish or loves the food and they make it in a way that they would love to eat it.
Experiences should be tried in multiple forms.
Experiences also need to be had in the best form possible in order for you to make a judgment — or write something off for good. Sometimes, that means trying the same kind of experience in many different ways.
Maybe you’ve been kayaking and it just isn’t your favorite thing to do near home. It’s always hot when you go, your kayak somehow is always full of water, and frankly, it hurts your shoulders. But, taking that second chance on kayaking while traveling in Kauai, you realize you actually might like it.
In Kauai, you kayak peacefully through a slow-moving river shaded by gorgeous tropical trees and vegetation, and you stop at a trail that takes you to the most beautiful waterfall you have ever seen. Suddenly, you realize that maybe kayaking isn’t so bad!
So, you try the experience again while in New Zealand. This time, your kayaking adventure takes you around your own private island where you stop to collect seashells and enjoy having a beautiful island all to yourself. The waves crash gently on your private beach and the sun shines through the puffy clouds overhead and you can’t imagine a more beautiful setting. The kayaking was the same, but the experience changed, and that made all the difference.
Trying something once is good advice, but my husband’s recommendation to try something twice is great advice.
It is important to at least be willing to try something once, but if you aren’t willing to try it a second time, you may miss something truly wonderful. Only trying something once assumes that everything in the world is perfect the first time — and we all know that isn’t true.
So, take the chance and try everything (at least) twice.
Leana’s an avid world traveler who has been to over 40 countries and will be venturing to her 7th continent in 2022. She believes in ubuntu and that adventures make life worth living. To follow her journey as a plus-sized woman with unquenchable wanderlust as she continues to seek out all that the world has to offer, you can check out The Overweight Adventurer.
